The Truth about Ever After
by katybaggins
Summary: After Eugene is banished by the Corona Council, Rapunzel and Eugene must face the reality of being apart. In their hunt to find happiness, both are haunted by memories of each other and one single question: will they ever see each other again? HIATUS
1. Homecoming

**The Truth about Ever After**

"The idea of my life as a fairy tale is itself a fairy tale."  
>- Grace Kelly<p>

**Chapter 1-Homecoming **

**I**t was a typical early summer day in Corona:

A light breeze blew off of the sea, causing calm, rippling waves. The bright summer sun smiled down on the country, like a benevolent parent. For all of Corona, the day couldn't be more beautiful. And for two of the Coronians, the day couldn't be more perfect.

Finally Rapunzel, the long-lost princess was home. And her parents, King Ostwalt III and Queen Guinevere I couldn't be happier that their daughter was back with them after seventeen years. They had waited a long time for this, and they both felt like they could stay in their loving embrace forever. Yet there were two others in the embrace as well: Rapunzel herself, and the person who brought her to the castle: Eugene Fitzherbert. Or as he's more commonly known in the Kingdom of Corona- Flynn Rider (thief extraordinaire).

The King and Queen's thoughts were full of sheer joy, and so were Rapunzel's. The three people that meant the most to her were all together, safe. Throughout her journey she had been nervous that they wouldn't remember her, but they did and she could just feel their loving acceptance just wash over her. They loved her! They truly did, and they had always wanted her.

Eugene's thoughts? Well, Eugene's thoughts were on a completely different plane. He was very happy for Rapunzel- she had her real family now instead of that witch Gothel (Now, he had only met her once, but trust him. That was enough to know that she was queen of the witches, and enough to loathe her from now until eternity. And probably beyond too). But on the other corner of his brain was screaming "you're hugging the King and Queen, who can execute you in a few hours!" He speculated about what the likelihood was that he _would _end up executed today. It would be nice if he didn't have to worry about it. Over the past few days, he had been shot at, nearly drowned, almost hanged, stabbed, died.

Honestly, he would really appreciate a day off from potentially dying. It was terribly tiring to constantly cheat death. But he knew that he might not get it. He had already been sentenced to death once. Who could say that it wouldn't happen again?

So (and needless to mention), his blood pressure was starting to spike, especially when they all finished their group hug. Then the King looked at him appraisingly and asked, "And who is this?"

Eugene wondered facetiously what would happen if he cracked a grin and said Flynn Rider at your service. Probably nothing good, so he was glad that Rapunzel spoke up. "This is Eugene," she said with a smile. "He brought me home."

Both the King and the Queen exchanged looks that he would need to be blind to miss. Clearly they noticed his startling resemblance to Flynn. But the Queen smiled a little and nodded her head at the King. He sighed, but then forced a smile too. "Eugene….," he said. "Thank you for bringing our dear girl back to us."

Eugene felt his cheeks heat up at the King's kind and gracious words. He didn't feel like he deserved any gratitude; he was still Flynn. Right? Besides that, part of him had wanted to run off with Rapunzel in the complete opposite direction. He'd rather have fled to Screlandria than go to Caermoor, the capital of Corona. But he loved Rapunzel, so he'd taken her back to her family. "Um….you're welcome?" He looked awkwardly at the King. The King looked awkwardly at Eugene. Inwardly, he wondered if the king would offer him the reward that had been well-proclaimed throughout the kingdom for finding the lost Princess. In all honesty, he didn't want it. If the King did ask him, he would probably say that simply sparing his life would be enough. Forget money! As much as he hated the thought of it, he wouldn't be surprised if they said thanks and then kicked him out. That is, if they didn't hang him or throw him in jail first.

Rapunzel beamed a huge smile at him, and he smiled back at her even though he felt positively ill with nerves. "So, now that we've met each other," she said. "Eugene can stay with us, right? I mean, he's done so much for me!"

At that, Eugene's face was as red and hot as a fire with embarrassment. He would _never_ have presumed on the King and the Queen's hospitality like that. About twenty-four hours earlier, he had been on his way to the noose! But he knew that Rapunzel was naïve and innocent and didn't probably completely understand what she was asking. In her mind, he had saved her and needed to be with her. "Uh…Your Majesties…," he began. "You…"

He was fully prepared to say that wasn't necessary, that his little room at the Eagle and Crown would be more than fine. But the Queen smiled at him, and he felt the words die in his throat. "I think that would be nice, Rapunzel. We have plenty of room here," she said.

Rapunzel was thrilled that Eugene could stay with them. Part of her was afraid that they would say no because of his past. "Oh, thank you! Can we see our rooms now?"

"Of course, dear," the Queen said. "Right now would be fine."

Rapunzel smiled and not-so-subtly grabbed his hand. "Oh, this is so exciting!" she exclaimed. "Come on, Eugene."

Eugene felt his mortification just grow and grow. First, he was thanked by the King for something he didn't deserve. Second, he was a criminal that they had almost executed yesterday, and now he was staying-of all places-in the_ palace_? In his own room? Hello? Was it just him, or was there something very….incongruous about most wanted thief living in the castle? Of course, there was also Rapunzel holding his hand in front of them. Truthfully he loved it, but he felt so awkward doing it in front of her parents. From the King's raised eyebrows, it was clear that he hadn't missed it.

But Rapunzel smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. She was beyond happy, and that made all of this worth it.

XxXxXxXx

One of the servants in the castle, instructed by the Queen, showed Eugene to his new room, which was very nice. But he felt like he should be happier about it. He felt like it was too comfortable and luxurious for someone like him. Flynn, of course, would have cockily thought that this was what he deserved. Eugene didn't feel that way though. Sure, he was glad to be in the castle and not in the dungeon, but part of him thought he might not have that sick feeling in his stomach if they _had _just thrown him in prison. Now, he was just waiting for them to decide what to do with him. He was no idiot, and he figured that they had postponed….whatever they would do because of Rapunzel's clear attachment to him.

With a sigh, he flopped onto his new (and very comfortable) bed. He wondered how Rapunzel was doing. He wondered how she liked her own new room. He wondered how the King and Queen felt about him bringing their daughter home. He wondered if they still wanted to execute him…. Then he thought about death. He thought about dying and the fact that he _had _died.

Suddenly his brain felt very tired at that, and the bed was so soft. With another sigh, he turned over and dozed off. But it seemed like only a few minutes had passed before a gentle knock woke him up. "Eugene?" he heard Rapunzel say. "Can I come in?"

Drowsily he pushed himself up and opened the door. "Hey Rapunzel," he said.

Rapunzel smiled broadly at Eugene, but she noticed that he was blinking sleepily. "Hey yourself," she said. "Having a little cat nap, were you?"

He laughed. "Well, what can I say? Something about these past few days really tired me out." Something about…._dying _had tired him out, but he didn't really want to talk about that. Sometime he probably would and really process it. Just not…. now.

Rapunzel was a sensitive girl, and she could imagine what he_ wasn't_ saying: He was tired after the whole….dying thing. "I understand," she said sympathetically. "So, how do you like your room, Eugene?"

He didn't know what to say. He still felt like he didn't deserve it. "It's the nicest room I've ever been in," he said honestly.

Rapunzel beamed. "Oh mine is too!" she exclaimed. "Do you want to see?" Before he could answer, she grabbed his hand and dragged down the hallway to her room. She pushed open a door, revealing a big room with a canopy bed in the middle of it. "I think it's beautiful," she said. "But the walls are so plain!"

He managed to crack a smile at that. Of course she thought that. There were no pictures. "Well, I'm sure you can paint on them if you want to."

She cocked her head thoughtfully at him. "Hmm." Then she smiled again. "That's a great idea, Eugene! And you know what I'll paint?" She knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she could already imagine all the lovely paintings she could do.

"What?" he asked.

"Us!" she said excitedly. "I'll paint pictures of all our adventures – from the tower to the Snuggly Duckling, and well…just everything!"

He grinned at her. "The lanterns?"

"Of course I'll paint the lanterns, silly!" she said emphatically. "That was one of the best parts!"

He was inclined to agree. If only the stupid Stabbingtons hadn't ruined it… "Well, you can paint it all on one condition."

Rapunzel smiled. She had a feeling his condition wouldn't be that hard. "What's that?"

"You _have_ to promise you'll get my nose right," he said. "Nobody else in the whole kingdom gets it even close."

She sort of smirked at him. "I think I can manage that, Eugene." Easily!

"You promise?" he asked her.

She was tempted to kind of laugh until she saw his face, and she noticed how serious his face was. Clearly he was sick of people messing it up.

"I promise."

XxXxXxXx

That first day for Rapunzel was wonderful. She loved that she was finally with her parents, and she loved that Eugene could stay with her. Besides the fact that she felt sad about Gothel, she was very happy. Though she wasn't sure what to call her true mother- Gothel had essentially destroyed that word to her, trounced it through the mud. So, right now she didn't call her anything.

However, Eugene's feelings were a little different especially as that week went on. He liked living in the palace a lot. His room was amazing, and hadn't he always dreamed of living in a castle? And he loved being with Rapunzel. Though he hadn't known her that long, she had so infiltrated his world that he couldn't even imagine her not in it. He enjoyed every minute that he spent with her.

Yet always at the corner of his mind were two things (that were like an irritating itch that he couldn't reach, couldn't scratch, and couldn't ignore) that diminished the many pleasures of being with Rapunzel: one was the fact that he had died. He tried to be nonchalant about that, but sometimes there were times when he would talk to Rapunzel and suddenly his brain would start screaming "you died and left her!" over and over. It was very annoying really, but he didn't know how to turn it off. The other was the reality that any day the King could come to him (though the King was very busy and he barely saw him. Truthfully, he felt relieved at that) and tell him that he would be thrown in jail.

Many others seemed to be waiting for it too. Although Rapunzel and the Queen were kind to him, many of the other people in the castle acted like he was scum off the bottom of their shoe. It made just walking around very….awkward. He tried to pretend it didn't matter to him, but it was a lot harder when he accidently overheard all the gossip and cruel remarks about him. Like…why on earth hadn't the King executed that rotten thief Flynn yet? And what did Princess Rapunzel see in him?

Consequently, the remarks entered his brain unconsciously and he started to feel like he didn't belong even more than when he first came. He tried to act all witty when he was around Rapunzel, but she knew him too well to not notice that he wasn't happy. She worried that he wasn't happy with _her_, and she eventually decided to ask him about when they met in the palace garden. Eugene was uncommonly quiet, which immediately set alarm bells in Rapunzel's mind because he wasn't the type to be quiet. In fact, it was a sure sign that something was wrong.

So Rapunzel tried to perk him up by telling about her morning and the news that her mother was planning a week-long party next week to celebrate her homecoming. She was _sure_ that would cheer him, but it didn't. Now fairly worried, she looked carefully at him, and he attempted again to hide how he felt. But she wasn't fooled in the slightest. "Eugene, are you all right?"

"Of course I am," he said, trying not to sound snappish. "Don't I look all right?"

_It's not about how you look_, she thought to herself. Of course he looked all right (he looked _fantastic, _really- much like he usually did), health wise anyway, but there was a black cloud of gloom hovering over him. So Rapunzel was fully aware that something was bothering him, and she knew pestering him until he told her wasn't the best way to handle the situation. So she walked over and quietly stood next to him. Gently she reached out and brushed her fingers against his, hoping he would take her hand.

He did. Silently they stood there, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, he looked over at her, and she smiled at him, but it was a smile with a question. Like _Eugene, what's bothering you? Won't you tell me? _

He sighed. "Okay, Rapunzel," he said. "You win."

She beamed. "I knew it! You've been acting strange since we got here, and now you're going to tell me why?"

"Um….sure…." he said.

She found that to be rather funny. So she laughed, even though he gave her a look. "Sorry," she said. "It's just…do you know how much 'um…sure' isn't an answer?"

Of course he did. That's why he said it. But he decided that if he didn't tell her, she probably would make some kind of adorable Rapunzel face. And then he'd probably tell her anyway. So he had to decide if he wanted to pretend not to tell her so he'd see her cute face or just tell her now. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions…..

Before he could decide, she made her adorable Rapunzel face, like her eyes grew very big, and her lips almost started to pout. Any resistance he had completely vanished away then. Honestly, her face was basically as effective as a Smolder. How did she ever learn how to do that? But her face wasn't an act to manipulate people, which was probably why it melted his heart. She just wanted to know because she cared about him and didn't like to see him sad. So he found himself telling her. "I guess I have been acting…weird."

"Yes, I've noticed," she said. "But why?"

"I just….I just don't belong here." Ugh. Could he sound like a bigger softy? Probably not.

Rapunzel blinked in surprise. If anyone belonged here-with her- it was Eugene, the man who brought her home. "I don't think I understand, Eugene."

"Have you forgotten who I am, Rapunzel?" he asked her sadly.

"No, I haven't," she answered_. He was Eugene_, she thought_. Who else?_

"I'm a low-down thief, a lousy orphan," he said. "I've lied, cheated, used people….I don't deserve to be here in the castle with you, the princess, when I'm Flynn Rider."

He looked at her again, and her chin was stuck out stubbornly. Somehow what he had said did _not_ please her. Even if it was the truth.

Rapunzel's eyes flashed. It infuriated her to hear him talk about himself like he was….some kind of pond scum. He was the most amazing, wonderful man he had ever met. And it didn't matter to her one iota that he had been the only, besides her father. "Eugene, you _have_ to stop talking like that."

"Rapunzel…" he began. He was right about this, he just knew it.

She shook her head. "No," she said. "I don't want you ever, _ever_ saying things like that about yourself again. Do you hear me?"

Eugene was slightly surprised at her vehemence. "I do, but…"

"NO," she said. "Don't you see? If you think of yourself that way, then everyone who's ever said anything degrading about you wins."

Many of those insults passed through his mind, and he almost missed the next thing she said.

"Besides, you're not Flynn anymore," she continued. "You're Eugene, who died to save me. If anyone ever deserves to be here, it's you."

Her sweet words were a healing balm to his aching heart. So he held her close in a hug and sighed. What had he ever done before her? She was like the sun rising in the morning, a rainbow after the rain. She just brightened his life. She made him feel like he was somebody worthwhile, somebody that _mattered_. He didn't deserve someone as sweet as her, but he wouldn't ever give her up.

For her part, Rapunzel hugged him back. Somehow she knew what she said had made him feel better, which was what she wanted. "You'll always have a place with me, no matter what people say," she whispered. "Don't…don't ever go because you think you won't."

"I won't," he whispered back to her. "I promise."

And when he promised something to Rapunzel, well….

He wouldn't break it. Ever.

* * *

><p>AN: I don't actually have much to say in this note, except that I'm excited about this story. I feel like it will stretch my writing, because I"m doing third person for all of it, and the other...well, I can't tell you yet :) that would give away part of the plot. Besides that, this story has gone through many, MANY different plots and scenes and I'm kind of psyched about what I finally came up with. Inspiration hit when I was reading a book, and I think it was called She Walks in Beauty. That, or Faithful. I can't remember which. Oh, and the title is inspired by Sarah Dessen's book, the Truth about Forever, just so you know. So, essentially, this is a sequel to Chasing Daydreams, but I decided to stretch myself by third person, and not first. Besides, I like it because I'm going for third person...omniscent in the sense that I want to write both Rapunzel's and Eugene's thoughts at the same time. Awesome.<p>

Thanks for reading!

FL 6


	2. Illness

**AN: **So I think this a new record for me in the whole "not updating" category, but honestly I haven't felt like writing much because I feel like everything I write sucks, nobody ever reads it, and I have too many other things to do like school and work. But this chapter is basically done, and I thought that I might as well post it. I like this story, even if there are a million stories out there set after the movie, and I want to write it.

And I hope you like reading it.

FL 6

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2-Illness<strong>

**Now, **most people would think that suddenly Rapunzel's and Eugene's lives got easier just because they now lived in the palace. And in some senses that was true. Rapunzel felt safe with both her parents and Eugene, and it was no lie to say that she lived more comfortably than she ever had. The same went for Eugene, though he continued to feel nervous about the whole Flynn Rider thing. Regardless, though, they were both happy to be together, and it was nice that no one was trying to chase either of them.

But one day, soon after they returned to Corona, Rapunzel told Eugene that they would be having breakfast with her father. Eugene immediately grew nervous because he figured it would be….awkward. Was there any way that his first meal with the king _wouldn't _be like that?

As it turned out, he was absolutely right, except that first breakfast with the King present was _more _awkward than awkward. It wasn't just normally awkward, like a meeting with a father usually is. No, this went to a level far beyond that. It was just all sorts of strange and weird. And the thing was? He didn't know how it started. It just seemed like one minute he was smiling at Rapunzel, thinking that she had never looked lovelier, and the next the King was frowning at him. He couldn't be sure why though. He hadn't done anything wrong that he could think of- and he was careful to treat her like the princess she was.

But somehow the King wasn't happy. "So….em…."

He guessed that he wasn't sure what to call him. "Um….Rapunzel calls me Eugene," he offered. The King raised his brow. "Uh…you can call me Eugene too_." I'd much prefer that compared to other names that the King could easily think of_, he thought to himself. _Like Convict, or Scum…._

"So…" the King said, interrupting his thoughts. "_Eugene_, tell me how you and Rapunzel met."

Inwardly, he cringed, for two reasons really. For one, he hadn't known that his own name of Eugene could sound so much like a curse word. For another, that wasn't particularly something he wanted to talk about with the King, considering he had only found Rapunzel because he had been running away from Caermoor after stealing the crown. "Um….well?" He looked at Rapunzel for help. _What should I say? _ She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Just tell the truth, Eugene. You can't ever go wrong that way."

Ha, ha….can't go wrong by telling the truth. He loved her, but sometimes? Let's just say she really didn't have a clue. There was a reason he used to lie all the time, you know. He geared himself up to tell one of his outrageous Flynn stories (aka a whopper). "Well," he said confidently. "I was…_.gallivanting_ through the forest when I-…." He glanced at Rapunzel out of the corner of his eye. She frowned and shook her head slightly. He sighed because he knew he had disappointed her. He hated disappointing her. "Actually, I was running away from Maximus and the guards when I hid in her tower," he confessed.

"Really," King Ostwalt said. "And what happened then? You wooed her to let you stay there?"

Ouch. What _were_ the gossipers saying about him now? He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Not exactly." He wondered if trying the Smolder on her counted as wooing her. It probably did. Double ouch. Good thing Rapunzel had been so completely unaffected by it. Still, he should probably start his own gossip trail somehow so people wouldn't say moronic things about….Rapunzel. He could handle the moron-ity of people, but he knew how sensitive she was.

He heard Rapunzel giggle next to him. "Actually," Rapunzel said. "I knocked him out with my frying pan and tied him up with my hair."

"Quite an auspicious beginning," the King said dryly.

Rapunzel giggled again. "Oh, Papa." She snorted through her nose in laughter. "You have no idea." Her first meeting with Eugene had been…..different to say the least, but she wouldn't have had it any other way.

Suddenly the King frowned again, and Eugene felt slightly sick. What now? "How on earth did you tie him up with your hair?" he asked. "It is rather….short."

Now Rapunzel was the one who looked sick. Eugene didn't miss the way her eyes grew rather large and almost teary. He could only think that she was imagining Doomsday at the tower in her mind. "Well…"she said slowly. "I used to, um….have lots more of it. It was blonde too."

"What happened to it?" asked the Queen. "I remember that you did have blonde hair as a baby."

"Uh…." Rapunzel felt her throat close up, just _thinking _about That Day (which was how _she _always thought of it- That Day in capital letters. As in, That Day When Eugene Died. That Day When….Gothel Died. That Day When I Realized I Was The Lost Princess, That Day Which Was The Worst Day Of My Life, etcetera, etcetera. ) in the tower.

"I cut it," Eugene said helpfully.

"Why did you do that?"

Eugene glanced at Rapunzel, who was staring down at her plate. "Go ahead," she said softly. "You can tell them."

He wasn't exactly sure how to explain it. He wasn't sure he _wanted _to explain it, but Rapunzel usually was the one who told about Doomsday and he guessed it was his turn. "Well, um…I don't know if you know this, but Rapunzel's blonde hair could heal…"

Promptly the Queen's jaw dropped open in surprise. "The magic flower….?" She whispered.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Um…and that's why that witch took her away to the tower-she wanted to use the hair. Right, Rapunzel?" He glanced at her again, but her eyes were still on the uneaten food on her plate.

"Yes…" Rapunzel said faintly.

It was more like Gothel wanted to _use _Rapunzel, but he didn't say that. Saying it would only make the wrong person hurt. "Anyway, on the day when I was supposed to….well, you know. I found out about what her 'mother' was really like. So I went after her and to her tower."

"What happened then?"

He looked at Rapunzel. Her face was positively white, but he didn't know that, although her eyes were open, all she was seeing was him dying on her over and over and over. He could guess though, and so underneath the table he took her hand in support. She fairly clung to it, as if she was drowning in the sea and he was her only lifeline. "Gothel decided it would fun to stick a knife through me."

The Queen gasped. "What?"

"Yes," Rapunzel said, finally finding her voice again. "She…did. It was horrible."

The Queen looked sympathetically at both of them, but the King just fiddled with his fork. "Then what'd you do?"

"I wanted to heal him," Rapunzel said. "So I made a bargain with her-I'd go with her if she let me save him."

"Did she?"

"Yes," she answered. "But he-he couldn't stand to see me do that, so…" Her voice trailed off and a painful lump settled into her throat. Briefly she shut her eyes, but all she could see behind them was still Eugene bleeding and dying…It was something from a nightmare. Except it was true.

Eugene noticed her sad face and squeezed her hand. "So I cut her hair."

"Really."

"Yes," she said. "And he….he died. He died so I'd be free."

The King and Queen exchanged long looks, but they said nothing. What could they say to that anyway? Soon, the King and Queen changed the subject and they talked about something else more pleasant- like Rapunzel's first party. The rest of the meal passed quickly but afterward, Eugene felt ill. He wasn't sure if it was a stressed ill because of that whole….unpleasant conversation, or a sick ill.

He hoped it was the….

Well, he actually didn't want it to be either. The former meant that he'd develop a most unattractive furrow in his forehead. The latter meant that he was probably getting sick, and then he might miss the many fun events in Rapunzel's Welcome Home Week.

He felt even sicker after he accidently overheard the King and Queen talking about him in their office while he was on his way back to his room.

"….I don't think I-…" The King was saying.

"Didn't you hear what Rapunzel said?" argued the Queen. "He _died _because he couldn't stand to see her trapped with that woman!"

"But…."

"Ostwalt, what else do you want him to do?"

Silence. "I don't know. But I don't like him. He kept touching her." If the King didn't literally have power of life and death over him, he might have laughed at that. It was such a father thing to say.

"You mean because he took her hand at breakfast when she was crying?" the Queen said dryly. "Oh, Ostwalt, he's a weasel all right."

Eugene decided then and there that he loved the Queen. Somehow he knew she had his back, and that was vastly reassuring. Someone (besides Rapunzel) didn't completely loathe his presence. Maybe….maybe the Queen even liked him? A little? He could only hope.

A long pause, but then he heard the Queen speak again. "Are you sure, Ostwalt, that this doesn't have anything to do with you? And that Rapunzel already found a man to love?"

"What do you mean?" The King sounded confused.

"I mean," she continued. "That you are upset that you just found your little girl, but now you've lost her again, only in a different way."

Suddenly he realized partly where Rapunzel received her brilliance- her mother. The Queen was very intelligent and insightful, just like her daughter was. And she was probably exactly right.

The King sighed. "Gwenny, I don't know," he said. "You may be…you may be right. But I do know is that the Council is pressuring me to do something about….about Flynn Rider."

"You mean Eugene."

"Flynn, Eugene…whatever," he said. "_Whoever_ he is, they want him to be tried in some way."

Eugene felt slightly ill at that, but he _had _been expecting this. He just wished that it wouldn't be this soon. A trial….he hoped that it wouldn't be how he thought it would be. It probably would be. Ugh.

He heard the Queen gasp. "Do you think they'll sentence him to be executed again?"

"I don't know. Maybe." _Maybe?_ His mind screamed. _Maybe?_ It was enough for him to wish that he'd never agreed to come back to Caermoor. Almost, anyway. Because how could he let Rapunzel sacrifice her family?

Behind the door, the Queen argued with her husband again. "Ostwalt, you can't let them! It would _kill _Rapunzel to see him die."

"Gwenny….I'll see what I can do."

"Do you know when they'll have the trial?" she said softly.

"Probably next week. After the big party."

Eugene couldn't listen anymore. He felt too sick to his stomach to do anything but go to his room and stare at the ceiling (but he wasn't sure if it was because of the horrible things the King said, or that he was just coming down with something).

He did that until Rapunzel came to him with a smile, and told him it was time for the first party.

XxXxXxXxX

He wanted to enjoy the party, he really did. But it was pretty much impossible, considering that he felt like his throat was on fire. If that wasn't bad enough, the King's words repeated themselves over and over like a really bad song from a really bad singer in a really bad pub. He tried to keep smiling throughout the party and joking to make Rapunzel happy, but she wasn't fooled. She noticed again that he seemed…..well, not himself. And she finally confronted him.

"Eugene, are you feeling all right?" she asked.

"Of course I'm feeling all right," he said grumpily. "I'm at your first party! How could I be better?"

She wasn't going to play this game with him. Not now, not when he looked so ill. "Right…" she said flatly. She reached out and touched his forehead. "You're burning up, Eugene!"

He winked at her. "Am I?" Even if he wasn't feeling 100 percent, he couldn't resist saying something to that.

Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and gently smacked him. "You goof," she said. "I don't mean it like that. You need to go back to your room and go to sleep-…"

"Rapunzel…." He began.

She completely ignored him. He wasn't as healthy as he thought he was. "….because clearly you're sick."

"I am not," he protested.

"You are," she insisted. "And, as your princess, I am_ ordering _you to go to bed."

He found that very amusing. Rapunzel….ordering him to do something. That was funny. "Come on." He started to laugh-which caused him to go into spastic coughing. Of course that unintentionally confirmed her point.

"Eugene," she said, making her eyes look big and pleading. "Please. Go rest."

He hemmed and hawed and huffed, but he finally did what she said. Grumpily, he stomped back to his room. He was feeling just fine, thank you! He didn't need to go rest, he was strong and healthy and….

….and actually taking a nap in his nice new soft bed _did _sound nice. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to sleep for a while, and then go back to the party. So, he took off his boots and vest and crawled into bed. Within minutes, he was asleep.

XxXxXxXx

Rapunzel herself was stuck at the party for several more hours, and everyone was extremely kind to her, and kept telling her how happy they were that their princess was finally home. But she found it impossible to enjoy herself when she knew Eugene was ill. Oh, he had acted like he felt fine, but she wasn't fooled at all. He was sick. The only question was of how sick he was.

As soon as she could, she politely excused herself and went to his room to see how he was. She was praying that he had done what she'd told him and rested. Quietly, she knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she walked in, hoping that he was actually there.

He was. And he had even done what she asked, because he was sleeping. She lingered near the doorway, unsure of what to do. Should she just stand there and wait? Before she went crazy debating, he opened his eyes and looked at her. She sat next to him, and smiled. "How you feeling?" she asked.

Before he could think of a good response, he answered honestly. "Terrible," he croaked. Ugh. His voice sounded awful.

Rapunzel sighed. It looked like he was sicker than she thought. "I'm so sorry, Eugene," she said sympathetically. "Can I do anything for you?" For the first time, she actually wished he hadn't cut her hair. Then she could heal him….and he'd feel better- right now.

Rapunzel was so kind to him. By the expression on her face, it was obvious that she truly felt sorry that he was sick. He could remember times when he was in the orphanage, and people could care less if he felt ill. And they always left him all alone…..

He hated being alone. Was there anything worse than feeling terrible and no one to be there for you? What he wanted more than anything (besides not being sick anymore, of course) was for Rapunzel to be close. "Stay?" His voice was no more than a whisper.

She wished she was the sick one instead of him. She also wished that his face wasn't quite so white. It reminded her too much of the tower. "Of course," she said. "But I'm going to send for a doctor."

"You don't need to," he protested. "I'm fine."

Her only response was to gently reach out and touch his forehead. Hot. _Very _hot. "Eugene, you're still burning up!"

"Really?" he said. "I feel…..cold." Actually, he felt like he was in the middle of the Arctic Circle without any sort of coat surrounded by piles and piles of ice blocks.

Rapunzel frowned to herself. It was the middle of the summer and he had the blanket up to his chin. "Eugene, I'm sorry, but I'm going to find a doctor."

He didn't want her to, but he said all right anyway. Rapunzel got up, and gently kissed his forehead. "I'll be back soon, okay?" Quietly, she left and shut the door.

He nodded (missing her already), and then turned over and buried his face in his pillow. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this bad.

Excluding the whole dying thing, that is. That won, of course.

XxXxXxXxX

It didn't take long for Rapunzel to hunt down the palace doctor, Dr. Moore. He very kindly followed her to Eugene's room, but almost as soon as they got there, he told her firmly that she would need to wait outside. So she did, even though she didn't want to.

But she waited. And waited….When she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, he came out again. She immediately jumped up and bit her lip worriedly. "So? Is he going to be all right?"

He smiled at her, and she immediately felt better. He wouldn't look like that if he was dying….right? "I'm unsure as to what he has," he said. "But I think he'll be fine in a few days. He just needs to rest."

Relief poured over her. "Really?"

"Yes," he said. "There was one thing, though, that I was concerned about."

"Um…yes?" She didn't like that he was concerned about something.

"Well, when I was examining him, I found this….long white mark on his side."

Rapunzel stared at him. There was only one thing that she could think of that could have made that. "It scared?" she whispered.

"It scared?" he said. "You know what it's from?"

"Uh, yes, I do," she said, and proceeded to tell the whole story. After she finished, he frowned.

"Hmm," he said. "Well, that's not good. It could be that he's having some kind of delayed response to….you know."

To…..dying? She sincerely hoped not. "Yes."

"I'm going to keep a close eye on him," he said. "Don't be so worried, Princess. Just make sure he sleeps a lot."

She did, and he did sleep a lot. In fact, he slept so much that it seemed that every time Rapunzel was able to see him, he was asleep. Sometimes, she had enough time to sit for a while, and watch over him, just to make sure he was okay. Other times she had enough time that she actually would fall asleep because she was so tired from all the parties, and her mother or the doctor would wake her up and send her to her own room. But she would ask the doctor if she should be worried about that, but he said that she shouldn't- sleep was what he needed, and the medicine he was on would make him drowsy anyway.

So Rapunzel tried not to worry, but that was like trying to keep the sun from rising in the morning or the waves from not crashing on the beach: it was impossible. She didn't_ want_ to worry about him, but it was too hard, considering that he had died on her. Luckily, she was busy, but even that sometimes wasn't enough to keep her from her fears. Occasionally, she felt like she was sick herself, thought she guessed it was just sick with nerves.

One day, toward the end of the week though, he was actually awake when she went to visit him, and he was considerably less pale. So she asked how he was feeling (like she usually did) and he told her that he was feeling a lot better though he said he felt dizzy. After that, she left after insisting that he sleep more and she'd talk to him tomorrow. He did what she said, and it was partly because she looked cute when she was all stern about something. But he had to admit that she was partly right, because he felt better the next day, even better enough to go to her last party. And he knew it was because he had actually rested like she asked him to. He was glad that he had been able to make it to the party, because it was incredible. Tons of food, tons of people….The King and Queen had certainly gone all out for this one.

But because he was sick nearly the entire week, whenever anyone asked him later about the Big Party Week, he always said that honestly, he didn't remember most of it. Most of that week seemed like a vague blur to him and he could only recall bits and pieces of that week- like waking up and feeling Rapunzel hold his hand, and Rapunzel saying encouraging things. All he could remember was Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Rapunzel,…..

If he didn't love her so much, he would have thought himself pathetic for being so obsessed with her. But as he watched her interact with all of her guests, and be kind to a girl who gave her a flower, he remembered why he was so crazy about her: she was the sweetest girl in the world.

As she bent to hug the same little girl, he couldn't resist teasing her a little. So, he oh-so-subtly snatched her tiara off of her head. Of course, it wasn't long before she noticed and made the cutest face so he'd give it back. He didn't want to give in so easily, so he kept it just out of her reach, resisting the urge to laugh. But then she pulled him over to her and rolled her eyes. Then she kissed him, and he gently slid her tiara back on her head. And for the first time for a week, he finally felt like himself.

And it was a good feeling.


	3. The Whole Dying Thing

**AN: **Officially, this story is now for BroadwayFanGirl, because you keep reading and reviewing, despite the fact that no one else is, and despite the fact that I keep thinking that everything I write sucks. So, if you have any suggestions or ideas of where you want it to go, PLEASE let me know. I mean, I know where it's going of course, but I'm not sure how it will end so I welcome any input.

Did you see Tangled Ever After? SO cute, though there wasn't nearly enough Rapunzel/Eugene :)

-FL 6

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3-The Whole Dying Thing<strong>

**Of **course, just because he felt like himself didn't mean that he was completely well again. That took a few more days but soon enough he was deemed healthy by the doctor. Now, you would think again that he would have felt good once more-emotionally and physically- but that wasn't necessarily true either. After his brush with illness, he was reminded once again of his own mortality, and that small and minor detail that he had died. That fact started to bug him once more again, like a busy bee that wouldn't stop buzzing. It even invaded his dreams, and caused some sleepless nights. Needless to say, it was quite annoying and he tried to stuff his feelings about it down, like he used to. And naturally he was worried about the whole trial (of course, what he didn't know was that the Queen had managed to postpone it for another week or two). Before Rapunzel, he was quite apt at burying things that bothered him. But Rapunzel knew him too well now to not notice, and she always was aware of his tired and somewhat haggard look. Besides that, she also felt that he was always so….distracted when she wanted to talk to him. But at the same time, he seemed sort of clingy, or as much as he could be. When she wasn't in her boring lessons or at some equally boring royal function, he always tried to be with her. It was as if he was afraid that he would lose her somehow. And it wasn't that she minded, because she didn't, but she felt like he would only act like that if something was bothering him.

So, once again, she confronted him again when they were in the palace garden. "Eugene, are you all right?"

He shrugged in an attempt to act natural, and tried to achieve his trademark blithe tone. "Of course," he said. _Perfect. _ "Never better!"

Despite his easygoing tone, she wasn't fooled. So she almost snorted to herself. Right. If he was totally all right, then she was the Queen of Sheba. Who was dead. "Eugene…be honest," she said. "What's bothering you?"

He sighed because he knew he couldn't hide anything from her. Her radar for his feelings was much too sharp. "Um…well…." He held out his hands. "I died?"

Rapunzel immediately grew serious. No wonder he was looking like death warmed over. She probably would too, if she had that hanging over her head. "Yes, you did."

"Uh, actually, Rapunzel," he said. "Here's where you're supposed to say something funny." Her seriousness was doing nothing whatsoever to make him feel any better. All she was doing was reminding him that there was something to be upset about.

She wished with all of her that she _could _say something amusing to reassure him. But there was absolutely nothing, _nothing _funny about that day in the tower. Just thinking about was enough to make her cry again. Almost. "I can't."

"Come on," he pressed.

She wanted to help him, she really did. But she couldn't say what he wanted her to. "Eugene," she said helplessly. "I'm sorry, but I ca_nnot _say anything amusing about your death, because there wasn't anything amusing about it."

As soon as he heard the brokenness in her voice, he stopped thinking about the response he wanted her to have and started thinking about her. "Rapunzel…" he said gently.

She looked away from him, blinking back tears. "It was the most horrible moment of my life when I thought you were…were gone."

He sat closer to her, and touched her shoulder. "Rapunzel…I'm here now," he said softly. "I'm not going to leave you again." He turned her to face him. "Remember?"

She nodded, trying not to cry. She did remember. The first time she had her tower nightmare- the night after he died- he told her that as long as he could help it, he wouldn't leave her again ever. And he had promised. "I know, Eugene," she said. "I'm sorry. And I want to hear what you want to say about….the whole dying thing." She didn't really want to, but it seemed important to him, and so she felt like she needed to listen. He almost always listened to her.

He shrugged. "There's not much to say. It's just weird to think about." He could say more, but he didn't really want to tell her about those dreams where he permanently died, or the ones where (no matter what he did) he could never reach her when she was in trouble. Rapunzel looked freaked out enough already.

"Of course it is, Eugene," she said softly. "But…well…."

He smiled at her. "Well what?"

She chewed on her lip. "What was it like?" she asked, staring at her hands. Inwardly, she cringed. What kind of question was that? What in the world possessed her to even ask it?

He didn't know what to say. He knew he should say it was terrible, but it hadn't been. "Um….it was weird," he answered finally. "But the worst part was leaving you."

Rapunzel felt like crying at the almost tortured expression in his eyes, but she managed to control her emotions. Instead, she put her arms around his middle and hugged him. "Well, I won't leave _you, _ever, if it makes you feel any better."

He pulled her closer and kissed her hair. Somehow, it truly did.

XxXxXxXxXx

Clearly, Eugene was having some troubles, but it would be untrue and unfair to say that Rapunzel was having none- because she was. But her problems were different. First, she missed the tower sometimes and her life with her first mother. She knew she shouldn't, and she knew most people wouldn't understand how she felt. Eugene wouldn't, that was for sure. Oh, he never said so, but she knew that he loathed Gothel and, although he might try, he wouldn't be able to truly hear anything she said about missing her old life. He thought that her tower had been her prison, and that was true. But what was also true was that there had been some good times there, times that she didn't want to forget.

She also found herself having trouble adjusting to life in the castle as the princess. After the initial elation wore off, life in the castle began to wear on Rapunzel a little. For one thing, her time was completely full. Between lessons, royal functions, and meals with her parents, she barely saw Eugene at all. She liked being with her parents, but she didn't like all the pressure that she felt from them. Oh, she knew that they loved her, but there was the undisputable fact that she was the princess- and princesses had to act a certain way. They had to wear shoes most of the time, for instance. Frankly, she didn't understand that. Why would you wear shoes when _not _wearing them was so much more comfortable? Also, she noticed that people didn't seem entirely pleased that she and Eugene were together. In their opinion, a princess should marry a prince. Now, she _really _didn't understand that. After all, a prince was nothing but a title, and a title was just a word. Wasn't it more important to _act _like a prince? Eugene had been nothing but princely to her, and she couldn't imagine anyone better, not even a real prince.

But she was trying her best to live up to everyone's expectations, even if it felt as hard as rowing a boat upstream without a paddle. She tried to be as happy as possible too, even though there were times that she just wanted to scream with frustration.

Eugene noticed that behind her happy face she _wasn't_ actually happy. But he wasn't sure what to do to help her. Every time he asked her how she really was doing, she always just gave him a pleasant "I'm just fine, Eugene." And how was he supposed to respond to that? He could pester her, but he wasn't the pestering kind, and it would likely just make Rapunzel annoyed. He never wanted to see Rapunzel annoyed, especially around a frying pan. So he always let the matter drop.

However, one day he found Rapunzel sitting on a bench in the garden with her shoulders shaking, her face buried in her hands. He sat down next to her and touched her. "Hey…..you okay?"

Rapunzel let out a sob, and pulled him toward her. She allowed herself cry as he wrapped her arms around her. "What's wrong?"

She continued to cry. "Why wasn't I good enough?" she sobbed. "Why wasn't I _ever _good enough?"

He stroked her back. "What?" Who could possibly think that she wasn't….perfect?

"Her!" she said. "Why wasn't I good enough for her?"

"Her?" he repeated. She couldn't be talking about the Queen, because then she'd use the present tense, right? So, there could only be one possibility. "You mean….Gothel?" Just saying it was like eating something bitter.

"Yes!" she answered. As soon as she said that he felt like punching something because he was so angry. Not at Rapunzel, of course, but at Gothel. He wanted to kill her again for hurting Rapunzel so.. "Rapunzel, she's gone. You don't have to worry about her anymore. Just …just forget about her."

She sniffled. "Eugene, I can't just _forget _about the woman I thought for eighteen years was my mother any more than you can forget about being an orphan."

He opened his mouth, then shut it. He couldn't think of anything to say to that. She was right. He never did forget about his sweet mother or his kind stepfather that he had lost. "Besides," she added. "I loved her. She was my mother."

He hated that Rapunzel could use love, mother, and Gothel in the same sentence._ "No, _Rapunzel," he said firmly. "She was _not _your mother. Your mother is the Queen. Gothel was nothing but a…..selfish old witch."

She flinched at his choice of words. She wasn't sure that she was a witch. After all, she had lived with her for eighteen years and never seen her do one spell. Of course, maybe he was talking about meanness. "Eugene," she began. "She wasn't-…"

He almost growled in frustration. If there was one thing he didn't want to hear, it was Rapunzel somehow defend his murderer. "Yes," he cut in. "She _was _that bad. Do I have to remind you that-….." _she stabbed and killed me? _"….that you were just crying about her?"

That was true. "But Eugene," she said, returning to her former point. "I was never good enough for her. And part of me wonders…..part of me wonders if I'll ever be good enough for everyone in the castle too."

Sympathy washed over him and he drew her close to him again. "Hey," he said, kissing her forehead. "If it makes you feel any better, you'll always, _always _be good enough for me."

She snuggled closer to him. It did. At least one person here thought she was all right just because she was herself.

XxXxXxXxXx

Despite Eugene's words, though, Rapunzel still felt like she wasn't good enough for anyone in the castle. She started her lessons soon after that, and although she liked her riding instructor, Phillip, the rest of them seemed completely intent on telling her just how much she didn't know and how princesses weren't brought up the way she was (like it was somehow her fault or something!). She also could tell that princesses didn't have ex-thieves as beaus either, but they never outright told her that. Probably because they knew she wouldn't care. And she didn't. Eugene was the lone island of sanity in a sea of crazy rules and regulations instituted by equally crazy nobles. Her short visits with him after her lessons and before dinner were some of the highlights of her week. He always seemed in a perky mood now (though part of her wondered just what he really felt), and told her funny stories about how he would go to the barracks and torture the guards. She wasn't sure how true they were, but they did make her laugh.

One afternoon, though, his stories weren't enough to cheer her up. She stared at her hands most of the time, musing about how she'd really love to stop being the princess. She wasn't sure if she would, but she might if Eugene hadn't been there for her. Suddenly she realized that Eugene was staring at her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I missed what you said."

"I just asked if you had heard the ending of the story," he said. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even remember what story he had been telling her. He must have noticed too, because he gazed at her intently. "Are you okay, Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel saw how concerned Eugene looked. "Yes?" she said. Then she realized that she wasn't okay. She still wasn't okay at all. She was stressed, and sad. Annoyed and aggravated. Caged in and cooped up. And she was with the one person who would listen. "No."

"No?" he repeated.

"No," she said. "I _really _don't like it here."

"Why?" he asked her. "Don't you like being with your parents?" He knew the nobles annoyed her, but wasn't having her true parents around her worth it?

"Yes, they're nice, even if they want me to wear shoes all the time," she said. "It's everyone else. They're so shallow and mean." Her face grew fierce, as her mind came up with an idea-a crazy idea. But she liked it. "You know, Eugene, I have an idea."

"Yes?"

"Let's run away," she said intensely.

Eugene nearly fell off the bench in shock. She wanted to leave her parents and the castle? He almost couldn't believe it. "What?" Where would they go?

"Let's run away," she repeated. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Oh, I heard you," he said. "I just can't believe you said that."

"Why?" she asked in disbelief. "You practically asked me to back at the tower." She remembered clearly the way he had asked her to "come away with him." It was one of the most romantic moments of her life. Too bad she'd had to say no because of the whole princess thing.

Eugene was distinctively uncomfortable- as if he sat on pins and needles. The truth was he would love to run away with her…and elope.

Elope…The word was like chocolate. And he knew that if he asked her right now, to run away and elope, she would. Her eyes were eager and hopeful. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't let her give up her family and her crown. He'd never forgive himself. "That was different, Rapunzel!" he said. "I didn't know who you were. You should be here, being the princess that you're supposed to be."

Part of her felt disappointed. She wished he would say sure, let's run away. She ran her hand through her hair, only to realize once again how short it was. Her hand dropped down to her lap. She felt his concerned eyes on her, but she would never _ever _tell him how much she missed her long hair sometimes. All that would do would cause him to feel guilty and say he was sorry. And if there was one thing he shouldn't ever feel sorry about it was cutting her hair to free her. So she said nothing, even though she realized anew how much everyone didn't like her haircut and how it wasn't "worthy of a princess." Just another reminder that she wasn't the princess many wanted her to be. "Well, maybe I don't _want _to be a princess, Eugene! Did you ever think of that?"

"Rapunzel…."

Suddenly, she felt all her pent-up irritation gush out, with the one person who could stand to hear it. "I _hate _being the princess! It's just a million and one rules that I'm so sick of! I'm sick of stuffy people and boring lessons! I'm sick of wearing prickly clothes and pinchy shoes!" She looked at him, hard. "But you know what I'm most sick of, Eugene? I'm sick of how everyone looks down their noses at you, just because you don't have some kind of title."

"I-…."

"I just hate….everything here!" Her face crumpled up and her frustration came out in the form of bitter tears. Instantly, he moved close to her and drew her toward him. "Sounds like you need a break," he said.

Annoyed, she pushed him away. "No, Eugene," she snapped. "I don't need a break. I _need _to get out of here."

He patted her back, trying to calm her down. "Rapunzel…"

"And if you won't help me," she added. "I'll do it myself!" Then she jumped up and rushed off. He immediately ran after her and grabbed her hand. She whirled around furiously and he could tell she was about to crab again. Thank God there were no frying pans around was all he could say. Otherwise he thought it was likely there'd be a repeat of the day they met.

"What, Eugene?" she snapped.

He wasn't entirely sure what to say, and he knew that she was one wrong sentence away from losing her to who-knows-what. She wasn't acting rationally and he wished he had more time to think. He lifted his hand to touch her face, but he lowered it. It might make her even more annoyed. "Rapunzel," he said carefully. "What can I do to help you?"

Her shoulders slumped and relief filled him. Somehow he had said the right thing. "Can…can we get away? For at least a little while?"

He tilted her face up with his hand. "Is that what you really want?"

She nodded. "Yes. It is."

He sighed. "Okay, Rapunzel," he said. "Where do you want to go?" He had a feeling he knew even before she said anything.

"The tower?"

"Okay." Inwardly he cringed. It so figured.


	4. To the Tower

**Chapter 4-To the Tower**

**As **soon as Rapunzel knew she'd be free again, her mood improved dramatically. "So, Eugene," she said with a big smile. "What do you want to do until dinner?"

He stared at her. You'd think he'd be used to her mood swings considering the whole "best day ever/I am a despicable human being" thing back the day they met, but this was too radical of a change, even for her. "Um, I don't know," he said in a low voice. "Maybe figure out how we're going to leave?"

He watched her blink. "Oh yes," she said. "That's a good point. Do you think we'll be able to make it out with no one noticing? Do you have any suggestions?"

He just looked at her. "Rapunzel, who are you talking to?"

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. "I'm talking to Eug-…" Suddenly realization dawned on her. "Oh right. Flynn Rider." She put her hand to her forehead. "Sorry. Sometimes I forget about him. Well, I guess you_ do_ have plenty of ideas."

He laughed, partly to cover up his surprise. She _forgot _that he was Flynn? "I guess I do," he said. "Trust me, no one will even notice when we go." He couldn't believe that she forgot about Flynn! How was that even possible? He never forgot, and he doubted that he ever would. But instead of thinking about it more, he asked Rapunzel when she'd like to go. She seemed to think about it for a minute, then said tomorrow would be perfect, if he thought it was possible. Quickly, he came up with a feasible plan and told it to her.

She looked at him hard. "Do you think that will work?"

He smiled at her reassuringly. "Guaranteed."

XxXxXxXx

Rapunzel tossed and turned that night. Eugene's plan made sense to her: Disguise themselves, go to the stable at like 3 in the morning when there were less guards on duty, take Max and gallop out of there. He assured her it would work, and that he knew how many guards there were at basically every hour of the day at every part of the castle. She laughed when he told her that, teasing him that it must have been a leftover from his Flynn days. He'd chuckled, and she knew that meant she was right.

She smiled at the memory, but she still felt restless. What if it didn't work? She forced herself not to think about it. She trusted Eugene, didn't she?

She did. With all her heart.

And with that, she felt herself doze off.

XxXxXxXx

It seemed like only minutes had passed before she felt somebody shaking her. "Rapunzel." She groaned and rolled over. The shaking increased. "Rapunzel! Wake up!" She blinked her eyes open, only to see Eugene hovering over her. "We have to go, remember?" he whispered to her.

Instantly she remembered and bolted out of bed. "Right," she said, grabbing her disguise and dress. Then she went into her closet and poked her head out. "I'll be ready in like two minutes."

He nodded and she quickly changed into her purple dress that she had worn back in the tower. She probably should have worn something else, but it was the only dress she had that was plain enough to really ride for a while. She finished by pulling on the dark cloak that Eugene had somehow dug up. She didn't know where she had found it, but she was sure that he hadn't stolen it. She would have thrown a huge fit if he had. She came out of her closet, only to find him adjusting his own cloak.

He smiled at her. "All ready?"

She smiled back. "Of course."

XxXxXxXx

She thought later that maybe she hadn't been as ready as she'd believed. It was sort of unnerving to sneak out the way they were, and she felt like they would be caught any second. Of course, Eugene assured her that they wouldn't as long as she "did as he said." If she didn't know how good he was at this kind of thing, she would have protested and gotten out her frying pan. Yet she knew that he knew what he was doing, and although they came across a few guards, they managed to get to the stable without too much trouble.

The stable was completely deserted at that time of day, and they were lucky enough to saddle up Maximus and leave the stable in relative quiet. Eugene helped her up into the saddle, then sat in front of her. Maximus acted agreeable enough as they made their way toward the city limits, but she had to wonder what he was thinking. As soon as they reached the bridge, Eugene turned and looked at her. "You might want to hold on to me," he said softly. "We're going to pick up the pace a bit." She had barely done so before she heard him talk to Max: "Okay, Max, time to show how fast you can run." Max abruptly put on a burst of speed, and if she hadn't had a fist-full of Eugene's shirt, she probably would have gone flying off.

Yet she was slightly glad that Max ran so fast. For one thing, it seemed unlikely that anyone could catch them. And for another, their journey flew by. It seemed like no time at all had passed before she saw the tower and Eugene was slowing Max. He quickly dismounted, then reached up and helped her down. She smiled at him. "Thank you, Eugene," she said.

"Sure," he said. "One of the easiest escapes I've ever done." He might have said more but suddenly Max butted him in the back. "Uh, I guess I'll take care of Max here," he said. "So, I'll meet you up there?"

Rapunzel couldn't say that she felt any thrill at going into the tower by herself, but she nodded. "Okay…" Almost gingerly she walked over to the door and started to climb up the stairs, the stairs that until recently she hadn't even known were there! Once she reached the top, her heart went up into her throat and she gasped.

Because everything was exactly the same as when she'd left. There were shards of glass everywhere from when…when Gothel knocked it over, and dead brown hair circled the room. But the thing that almost stopped her heart was the chains at the stairs, and the small shard of glass that Eugene had used to cut her hair.

Suddenly she was back in that day, and she knelt to the floor and gathered the hair in her hands. The only thing she could see was Eugene bleeding and dying and her inability to stop it. Tears flowed from her eyes and she was powerless to hold any of them back.

XxXxXxXx

In hindsight, Eugene supposed that he shouldn't have let Rapunzel go up in the tower by herself. But hindsight is, of course, twenty-twenty, and Max needed some care. So he'd tended to him first.

He guessed that had been a mistake, considering that as soon as he reached the top, he heard her sobbing, clutching dead brown hair in her hands. Immediately, he gently took the hair out of her hands and put his arms around her. He thought about trying to get her to stop crying, but he decided not to. She probably just needed to get it out. So he kept holding her, hoping that she knew he was here and wasn't going anywhere. Eventually she seemed to because her fingers reached out and clung to his shirt, though she didn't stop crying at all. But at least she knew he was there for her.

Rapunzel knew Eugene was there; she felt his arms around her. But her heart still ached with the loss of that day and she couldn't stop crying. "Shhh," she heard him say. "Everything's going to be okay, I promise."

Despite herself, she found that she started babbling. "Miss…Mother…tower….hair!"

Eugene stroked her back soothingly. "I know, I know…"

She didn't know how long Eugene held her, but eventually she felt better enough to stop crying. His presence was a huge help, not to mention how he hugged her when she cried. "Thank you," she whispered. She felt him smile.

"Anytime." Then he pulled away to meet her eyes. "So, you said something about….hair?" he asked her.

She flushed. She hadn't known that he'd actually understand what she had said. If she had, she never would have said anything about her hair. It was sure to bring up her impromptu hair cut. "Uh…yes," she said, looking away. "I guess I did."

"You miss your blonde hair."

It wasn't a question. He knew that she did. Remorse filled her and she stared down at her hands. "Yes," she whispered. She couldn't lie, not to him- even if she knew what the next words out of his mouth would be.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry that I cu-…"

She knew it, and she cut him off. "No, Eugene," she said firmly. "You can be sorry about basically anything you want. But just because I miss my hair doesn't mean you should feel bad for cutting it."

"But, Rapunzel….," he protested.

She shook her head. "No. I'm glad you cut it; you saved me from living in another tower again for the rest of my life." Besides that, he had shown that he loved her in such a beautiful way that she'd never be able to express her gratitude. And he should never feel sorry about it.

"But you miss your hair," he said again, lamely.

"Yes I do." The she sighed. "I miss _her _too sometimes, you know," she said softly. He bit back his angry response and pulled her close again. "I'm sorry, Rapunzel," he found himself saying. _Sorry that she still has such a hold on you. _"It's…..understandable." _Not really. _

She pulled away to look at him, eyes serious. Did he? She had trouble believing that he truly understood her feelings for Gothel. "But you don't really," she said.

She knew him too well already. "No," he answered, trying to keep his contempt from his tone. He couldn't do it. "I don't. I can't understand why you can miss the woman who murdered me." Inwardly he cringed. That did not sound how he wanted it to. _Badly done, Eugene._

Rapunzel's eyes dropped down to her lap, and she was silent. His heart started to ache because he knew his words hurt her. Oh, why couldn't he keep his stupid mouth shut? He had known-even as the words came out- that his frustration would be taken out on the wrong person, but it was like he couldn't help himself. Ugh. He still had such a ways to go away from Flynn. Well, there was only thing to do now. "Rapunzel, I'm-…." He reached out to take her hands.

She shook her head, and it looked like to him that she retreated into herself. And she still wouldn't look at him. For a long and tense minute she didn't say a word. "You know, I really don't want to talk about this anymore," she finally said in a dull voice completely unlike her own. _I'm sorry, Rapunzel. _

He slowly blinked, trying to think of what to do to make her feel better. "Um, okay," he said. "That sounds fine." Actually, it sounded stupendous. He didn't particularly want to talk about Gothel either, especially if it made her upset. "What would you like to do instead? I brought a book to read; maybe you'd like to do that? You like books, right? Books are fun-…." He kicked himself again as he continued to babble on about books, he sounded like such an idiot.

But Rapunzel didn't seem to mind it too much. He didn't realize how adorable she found it. She knew most found Flynn's suaveness attractive, but what really got to her was the sweet, cute charm of Eugene. And she knew he felt bad about what he said about Gothel, and it had hurt her.

Because she knew he was partly right. It was still hard to remind herself that the woman who raised her wasn't her mother, and might not have even loved her. But she didn't want to think about it now. She wanted to enjoy being with him. "Reading a book would be nice," she said. "What book did you bring?"

With a sheepish grin, he took the book out of his bag. "_The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_?"

Her eyes brightened once more and his heart started to ache a little less. "Oh, that would be great!" she exclaimed. "Would you read it to me?"

He laughed a little. "You want me to?" She nodded eagerly. "Um, okay." He moved into a more comfortable position and began to read to her. She stayed where she was at first, but he noticed as he read further that she came closer and closer until she was nestled next to him, and her head rested on his shoulder. And he smiled to himself. She couldn't be too upset at him anymore if she wanted to sit that near. He kept reading to her, but eventually he looked down at her again. She wasn't listening anymore, because she had fallen asleep.

Softly, he shut the book. She could use some sleep, and he decided to take her upstairs to her room. So he did, and he gently tucked her into bed. He looked at her before he left, and his hand stroked her cheek. He wondered if she'd ever know how much he loved her.

As he turned to leave and go back downstairs, he heard her whisper softly. "Thank you, Eugene."

XxXxXxXx

Meanwhile, back in the palace, things were seemingly normal. However, (and predictably), that was all about to change. It all started when Rapunzel's new maid, Catherine, went to wake up the princess. Of course, she couldn't find her anywhere in her room and anywhere in the entire west wing of the castle. Catherine was no idiot, but she immediately thought the worst and ran to the King and Queen's chambers in a panic. The guards there didn't welcome her eagerly, but when she said she had vital news for their majesties, they let her in.

Both the King and Queen looked surprised s see her, and they couldn't help but notice her bedraggled appearance. "Why, Catherine," the Queen asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's the princess," she managed to gasp.

"Yes?"

"She's gone!"


	5. Emotions

**Chapter 5-Emotions**

As soon as she heard, Queen Guinevere's hand went to her mouth in shock. "Rapunzel…..gone?"

In that moment, Catherine would have given anything in the world to be able to say that Rapunzel was still in the castle. But she couldn't-and the Queen would now be subject to even more heartache. Oh, why did the Princess have to vanish again? "Yes," she said as gently as she could. "I went to her room this morning-like you asked- and she wasn't there."

The Queen's cheeks drained of their normal pinkish color, and she turned to the King and talked to him in muted tones. Catherine noticed that he didn't look too happy either. They continued their conference for a minute, but then the King beckoned to one of the guards and said something to him that she couldn't hear. But she thought she'd heard something about "Rider." She guessed that he wanted to know if Flynn Rider was still there- or as the Princess insisted- Eugene Fitzherbert. Apparently, that was his real name. If indeed it was his real name, she couldn't really blame him for changing it.

Well, whatever his name was, the Princess was completely infatuated with him from what she'd heard, and if she believed the rumors, he felt the same way about her. Personally, Catherine hoped he did for the Princess' sake. She didn't need any more heartache in her life. Suddenly, she felt the Queen's eyes on her. "Yes, Your Majesty?" she said in the polite servant tone that her mother had taught her. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," the Queen said. "Did you see any note or…anything when you went to her room?" Her desperation was obvious, and Catherine wished that she could say she had.

"No," she said slowly. "I'm afraid not."

The Queen and King looked at each other in silent communication, and then the Queen sighed. "All right, Catherine," she said. "Thank you very much."

Catherine curtsied and left. After all, she knew a dismissal when she heard one.

XxXxXxXx

Throughout the day, Catherine heard all the latest news on the Princess from her fellow servants- and it was "juicy" to be sure. First of all, there was no sign of Flynn Rider or "Eugene" or whatever his name was anywhere in the palace. It was completely obvious that he had left with Princess Rapunzel, or it was to Catherine. It must have been that clear to the King as well, because he'd apparently hit the roof when he'd heard the news and the Queen had trouble calming him down and assuring him that it wasn't what he thought.

Catherine couldn't decide either way, but she tended toward agreeing with the Queen. Maybe they had snuck off for some kind of rendezvous, but it didn't sound like the Princess at all. From all descriptions, she was innocent and sweet. If it were Catherine, she wouldn't be surprised if she'd wanted a break from the stress of palace life and just run off. And if "Eugene" cared about her like he supposedly did, he couldn't let her go by herself.

The second thing she'd heard was that the top guard horse, Maximus, was missing too and it was assumed that the Princess and "Eugene" had taken him with them. Of course, that freaked out the King even more because it meant they had gone somewhere far. Catherine wasn't entirely sure about that. It could just be that they weren't too far away and had used the horse for speed.

No matter what though, Catherine hoped the Princess was safe and would come back soon. She'd been missing for far too long already.

XxXxXxXx

At that very minute, Rapunzel was safe, of course. After her little nap, she went downstairs only to find Eugene at the table, completely conked out. She smiled, thinking that he looked awfully cute when he was asleep. One of his locks of hair fell into his eyes, and she pushed it away without thinking about it. Of course, that would be the moment he woke up and looked at her. "Rapunzel?" he said sleepily.

She flushed. "Uh…yes?"

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"No-…nothing," she stammered. "Just thinking about how we should clean up this place."

And that's what they did most of that day, though Eugene hated every minute of it. He tried to hide it from Rapunzl, but she'd noticed just the same. It wasn't like she enjoyed it either, yet she couldn't stand to have dead brown hair and glass all over the floor. For the rest of the afternoon, they'd just talked about random things, and she'd done some drawing. For dinner, she scrounged something up, but it wasn't too long after that it grew dark and she was tired. So, she went to bed, falling asleep fairly quickly.

Eugene, on the other hand, had a lot more trouble sleeping that night. Surely part of it was the fact that he was in that horrid woman's room (because obviously for etiquette reasons he couldn't stay in Rapunzel's and she said to sleep in Gothel's), and partly because he was in the tower of doom-the place that gave him the creeps like nowhere else. He knew that Rapunzel felt comfortable here, but he had been here twice before and neither time it had been good. In all honesty, he hated the tower, hated basically everything about it. Especially considering the last time he had been here. They had cleaned up the majority of the mess, but he hadn't told her that he had still seen blood by the stairs. _His _blood. Because he'd _died. _

It was very hard to sleep with thoughts like that. So, instead he stared up at the ceiling. He'd been lucky to have a second chance at life, but sometimes he didn't know why he'd gotten one. He didn't deserve it. There were so many good people who'd died that didn't get any chance to live again. Like his mother. Why was it that she, who had likely never done a mean or dishonest thing in her life, died young, while he, who had had made a career out of thievery, had not?

He decided that he didn't want to think about it. Instead, he thought about the nice day that he had spent with Rapunzel and all the fun they had together (that is, besides the whole cleaning up the tower thing). And he dozed off.

But bad thoughts continued to haunt him and his dreams. It wasn't too long before he dreamed he was back in the tower on that day of doom, but this time he'd stayed dead.

Well, he'd stayed dead until he then found himself in front of the King, the Queen, the Council, and the Captain of the Guard, and all of them were yelling "hang him! hang him!" over and over and over. But that wasn't even the worst part, if you could believe it. The most horrific thing was that he didn't see Rapunzel anywhere. He searched for her throughout the room, and finally he saw her in a corner. "Rapunzel!" he yelled over the din. "Tell them what happened in the tower! Tell them!"

She just crossed her arms and glared at him. "Won't you help me?" he pleaded desperately. Why did she look so hateful?

She uncrossed her arms. "No," she said in the iciest voice that ironically sounded just like Gothel's. "I won't. You deserve what you get." Then she left, her absence cutting into his heart like a knife. The guards came then, and dragged him away, all the while he screamed her name over and over.

It was then that he woke up, sweat trickling down his forehead. He sat upright, trying to convince himself that it was just a dream. That didn't work too well. It had felt so real, even Rapunzel's betrayal. That was ridiculous, of course. Rapunzel would never act like she had in the dream, she was much too sweet. And she loved him. Right? Oh, she hadn't said so, but she did. She _had_ to. He was her new dream, just like she was his. Still, he wished he could go see her, and let her voice reassure him. But he didn't want to wake her up. So he lay back down, attempting to calm himself down by remembering all the times Rapunzel had stood up for him, acted loving toward him….  
>It worked fairly well, and he almost felt calm enough to sleep when he felt somebody poking him. "Rapunzel?"<p>

She let out a choked sob, and he sat up again and wrapped his arms around her. "What's wrong, Blondie?" Obviously she wasn't blonde anymore but he hadn't come up with another cute nickname yet. Her only response was to cling to him and cry. It didn't take long for him to realize that she must have had some kind of bad dream too. "Did you have a nightmare?"

A muffled yes came from her, and he did his best to make her feel better. As he stroked her back and whispered reassuring things like "I'm here" and "it's gonna be okay" in her ear, he felt like he was doing more than just comforting her.

He was comforting himself too.

XxXxXxXx

The next morning Rapunzel woke up to find that she was still with Eugene, and she smiled to herself. There was something quite…delicious about waking up in the arms of the man you loved. It was like eating those cupcakes on her birthday, sweet and special. At that same moment her stomach growled, and she pulled herself out of bed. She walked into the kitchen, searching for something to eat. She sort of wished she had brought some eggs with her (because what was breakfast without eggs?), but she figured that any eggs she would have had in the icebox were probably be bad by now. Yet she could make some kind of bread, couldn't she? It would take a lot longer, but fresh bread was so good.

She had just set the bread in a bowl to rise when she felt arms around her waist, and someone kissing her hair just above her ear. Eugene. She turned around to see him smiling at her though he looked rather sleepy. Not much of a morning person, she reminded herself. "Good morning, Eugene!" she said, smiling.

"Good morning to you too, Sunshine," he said. "You're up early."

Sunshine! She liked that. She looked at the clock. 7:30. "Seven thirty's not that early, Eugene."

He just rubbed his eyes and groaned. "It is when you didn't sleep much last night."

Instantly she felt terrible. She should have known that her sudden presence had disrupted his sleep. "I'm sorry, Eugene," she said honestly. "I just had that bad nightmare; otherwise I'd never-…." She wouldn't have bothered him, except she had the tower nightmare again (which she figured was expected) but he'd died in her arms again. And combined with her earlier crying jag over her hair, it had proven to be just too much.

He waved her apology aside. "Don't worry," he said. "I was having a bad night anyway." She almost asked him why that was, but then he started talking again. "Besides, it's not like hugging you is some kind of hardship or anything." He winked at her. She blushed. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to all the flirty things he said to her- even if they were highly complementary.

She watched as he laughed a little, but she wasn't sure if he was laughing at her. He wouldn't right? She decided that he wasn't. "Anyway, what smells so good?" he said.

"Bread," she answered. "But it's not quite ready yet. It still has to rise and then I'll bake it."

He didn't seem too upset by this. Instead, he pulled out one of the kitchen table chairs and sat down. "Good," he said. "So we can talk then."

She blinked at him. Surely she didn't mind talking to him, but why did she get the feeling that this was a very specific talking? "About what?"

He looked at her evenly. "About you," he said. "And why we left the palace."

She turned around and fiddled with the cover of the bowl where she put the dough. "I don't really want to talk about it, Eugene." Only a mild understatement! She wanted to live in her fantasy world where it was just Eugene and her forever for a while longer. Yesterday had been almost perfect, with no princess talk at all.

"I know you don't," was his only response. "Which is why we need to."

She couldn't say anything over the large lump in her throat. Soon though, she felt him turn her around to face him. "Rapunzel," he said, his eyes boring into hers. She couldn't meet them and stared at the floor. Tears filled her eyes. Couldn't he understand that she didn't want to talk about why they left, that it hurt when she thought about it? Everything there was confusing, and stressful- and new. The new didn't bother her, she liked experiencing it, but this new role of a princess scared her more than the outside world ever did- mostly because she wanted to please everyone, and she wasn't sure if she could. It seemed like she was always on the verge of breaking some rule that she didn't even know.

She felt his hand cup her face and he tilted her chin up. "Rapunzel, talk to me," he said. It was nearly impossible not to look at him now, but when she did, all she saw was concern for her in his eyes. And she knew that he wasn't asking her this because he was trying to make her feel bad, but because he thought she'd feel better if she talked about her feelings. "I don't want to be the princess," she whispered finally.

He looked confused. "Why not?"

"I just don't," she said. "I'm….I'm afraid I'll mess it all up and let everyone down."

Now he seemed to understand better and he nodded slightly. "Ah," he said. "Well, I don't think you will. Everyone's for you, Rapunzel. They think you're better than….Oh, I don't know, sliced bread or something!"

A giggle inadvertently escaped from her, then another and another. Her better than sliced bread! She watched Eugene grin at her. "I'm serious!" he said. "They_ love_ you! They've been waiting for you for eighteen years because they _know _that you'll be a fantastic princess."

She smiled, but she found it difficult to keep it on her face despite his kind words. She'd read books about princesses who lived in beautiful palaces and wore glamorous clothes, but in her experience it seemed a lot more than that. It was work. Everyone seemed to expect so much, and she'd only been there about two weeks! Wouldn't it get even worse?

He noticed her unhappy expression. "Rapunzel, you _can_ do this. Don't be scared," he said. "And I'll be right there with you, every step of the way."

At his reassuring words, she impulsively hugged him. "Thank you, Eugene." He put his arms around her, and pulled her closer. "You'll be the best princess Corona's ever seen. They'll love you, just as much as your parents are by everyone."

She couldn't resist teasing him. "Even you?" She felt his laugh rumble in his chest and he pulled away slightly to look at her. "Of course even me," he said. "Just because they wanted to kill me doesn't me I don't like them." She sort of laughed at that.  
>They've been on the throne for as long as I can remember," he continued. "And they were always fair rulers."<p>

She nodded. It made sense to her, and she finally decided that she would be the princess. She should, and as long as Eugene was there, she thought she could do it. No, she corrected herself. She _had _to do it. Wouldn't she let people down more if she never tried at all? She'd only fail if she didn't try, right? "So, um…I guess we should go back, right?"

She didn't miss the myriad of emotions that played out on his face. "Yes," he said. "But we can go tomorrow, you know, if you want to."

"Yes," she said. "I'd like to." She needed one more day of freedom with Eugene like she needed to draw every day.

"Okay," he said. "So we'll go back tomorrow."

XxXxXxXx

And they did return to Corona the next day, after eating too much bread, playing too much chess (in Eugene's opinion), and reading too much (also in Eugene's opinion). Rapunzel thought later that neither of them really wanted to, but like so many other things in life, the right thing wasn't the easy thing.

And the easy thing wasn't going back after essentially running away, but everyone seemed thrilled that she was back, though she did not miss the scornful looks aimed at Eugene. She guessed that they thought it was his fault that she'd run away. Oh well. She'd have to set them straight later. Seeing her mother and parents again was a lot easier, because they welcomed her with open arms. Literally.

However, Rapunzel noticed that while her mother greeted Eugene pleasantly, her father looked like he'd like to rip off his head with his bare hands. He kept glaring at Eugene, but Eugene looked like he was doing his best not to glare back. Rapunzel was about to try and break up their little glare-down when Father spoke again. "Rapunzel, will you please excuse us while we talk to…?" he nodded toward Eugene.

Was that her cue to leave or something? She glanced at Eugene. He smiled grimly at her, and she took that to mean that she could. Yet she wasn't going to. She'd come up with the whole scheme and it wouldn't be fair to let him take all the blame for it, especially when she was the one who had begged to go. "I'm afraid not," she said. "Anything you have to say concerns me too."

Both of her parents looked surprised, but Eugene smiled at her- a true smile this time. "Besides," she continued bravely, even though she'd rather paint than continue cleaning up this mess. "Eugene did not want to leave in the first place. _I _was the one who had to convince_ him_. This is all my fault, and he had nothing to do with it." She took a deep breath, and finished her apologia. "I know I shouldn't have left, but it won't happen again. And if you're going to blame anyone, blame me." She felt Eugene squeeze her hand, and he knew he was proud of her. Somehow that made all of this worth it.

Father and Mother exchanged looks, but then her mother smiled at her. "Thank you for your honesty, Rapunzel," she said. "I'm proud of you for owning up the way you did."

Father nodded his assent. "Yes," he said. "But I'd still like to talk to…um…Eugene for a minute."

Rapunzel felt rather relieved that her part of this was over. As long as they knew it was her fault, they couldn't be too hard on Eugene, right? She decided that they couldn't. "Oh, okay," she said cheerfully. Something about confessing was very good for her soul.

Mother walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "And we can talk too, dear."

"Sure," she said, then looked over at Eugene.

"I'll be fine," he assured her.

With that, she went out of the room, leaving her father and Eugene alone.

XxXxXxXxX

Eugene hadn't particularly wanted to talk with the King alone, but after Rapunzel's gutsy speech he felt that if she could be that brave, then he could too. "You wanted to talk to me, Your Majesty?"

He nodded affirmatively. "Yes, Eugene," he said. "I was going to bawl you out for running off with my daughter, but it seems that it was her idea."

It was, though if Rapunzel could take her share of the blame, then he could too. "But I took her…."

He expected the King to look angry again, but he didn't. "Yes," he said. "Yet I'm sure you did for her safety, am I right?"

At that, he couldn't help but feel blessed relief. Everything was going to be fine. At least that's what he'd thought then, anyway.

Too bad he was wrong about that. In fact, his relief only lasted about two minutes considering the next words out of the King's mouth. "I'm afraid, though, that your troubles are just beginning, Eugene."

Suddenly his mouth went dry. _More_ trouble? "What?"

The King sighed deeply. "Because of your little trip with Rapunzel, the Council decided to give you a trial earlier than I'd hoped."

Why did it feel like all the air was gone from the room? "Trial?"

An unhappy look crossed the King's face. "I'm afraid so. It's in two days."

* * *

><p>AN: ending rewritten for Adrilabelle<p> 


	6. Just Enjoy Today

**Chapter 6-Just Enjoy Today**

Somehow, somehow he managed walk out of his meeting with the King without falling over. Yet the painful knot in his stomach persisted. Would they execute him even though he'd brought their princess back? He didn't know. He didn't want to think about it.

In a dazed stupor, he headed toward the hall where he stayed. When he got back to his room, he found Rapunzel there, sitting and waiting for him. She glanced up at him with an almost afraid look on her face. "What'd Papa say?"

The King hadn't told her- which meant he'd probably have to. Ugh. He'd give practically anything to not have to do it. He sat down next to her with a large sigh and looked at her. "He said that in two days they were going to have a trial for me."

He watched her eyes grow wide and her cheeks pale. "A….what?"

Lord, how he wished he didn't have to tell her this. "A trial," he said. "You know, judges, robes, convictions, sentences, jail…." _Nooses, hangings…. _He almost felt sick at the thought of it. Couldn't things go….his way for once? Immediately, he debunked that thought. If he did have to stand trial, he deserved it because of his own stupid choices_._

She waved her hands at him. "I know what it is, Eugene," she said patiently. "I just can't believe it."

"You can't….believe it?" He could. Easily. In fact, the most realistic part of him wondered at why it hadn't happened sooner.

"Yes," she said, her face starting to heat up and turn red just like it always did when she was all riled up about something."I can't believe that they'd do that to the man who _saved _me."

He wasn't sure he'd _saved her._ All he'd done was cut her hair so she wouldn't have to live with Gothel. In all honesty, she was quite capable of saving herself. If anyone had saved anyone, it had been her. She'd saved him from living as Flynn the rest of his life. "It doesn't matter to them," he said. "They might kill me anyway." There. He'd finally said the unthinkable. Now how could he stand to leave her?

Her eyes turned fierce and determined. He actually loved it when she got all riled up. She looked cute, and it reminded him of the day they'd met and the crazy blonde he'd fallen in love with. "No."

_No? "_Um…no?" he asked. Did she think that she could just say that and it would turn out that way?

Apparently so, because her expression didn't change. "You heard me," she repeated firmly. "No. They won't kill you. I won't let them. And you can't let yourself think that they will."

He wished he lived in Rapunzel-land. It must be very happy there. Her optimism was another thing he loved about her, but in this case? He sort of wished she could be more realistic. "Blondie…." He felt like he had to tell her that things always didn't work that way, that the Council had more say than she'd thought they did and if they unanimously decided on his execution, there would be nothing she or her parents could do. That's how Corona law was. "Not every story has a happy ending, you know," he said softly.

For a second she looked as if she might just break down and cry. Although he hated it when she cried, he felt that if she did, at least it meant that she understood the gravity of the situation and there might be something to be upset about. However, her expression turned resolute again. "No, Eugene," she said firmly. "Stop thinking like that. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

He sighed. "Okay, Rapunzel."

Inwardly, though, he didn't feel okay. Not at all.

XxXxXxXx

That night at dinner, neither of them said too much. Rapunzel was noticeably quiet to the King and Queen, but Eugene was even more so. Usually he'd be a regularly joker and he and Rapunzel would be smiling and laughing. Now? Rapunzel didn't look depressed or anything, but he did. There was an air of intense gloom all around them. They supposed that was to be expected, but it was still odd. It didn't surprise them too much when neither of them ate too much and asked to be excused, almost at the same time.

They exchanged a look. The King grimaced, and the Queen's heart ached.

And she wished she could somehow cancel the trial.

XxXxXxX

After dinner, Rapunzel and Eugene walked to her room in almost complete silence. Personally, that worried her immensely. He wasn't the type to be quiet, and his lack of talking was a sure indication that he was upset about the trial. If she was completely honest with herself, she was too. She couldn't think of anything else at dinner and she guessed that he couldn't either- and he was thinking about it right now. But at least he wasn't upset with her, right? He couldn't be. If he was, he'd tell her. She was sure about that and so she remained quiet as well, stealing glances at him now and then.

Once they reached her door, he spoke. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She didn't miss his haunted expression, and she wished she could do something to help. She suddenly had an urge to hug him until he felt better. "Wait," she said softly. "You will kiss me goodnight….won't you?"

For the first time, she saw the slightest hint of a smile on his face. "Of course," he said. He leaned forward and gently kissed her. After he did, she felt happier than she'd felt in a while. She smiled and he smiled back. She was thrilled to see it. "Better?" he asked her.

"Much!" she exclaimed.

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Blondie."

"You too," she said seriously. She watched him walk away from her, but she heard him laugh again. She smiled to herself as she went into her room and changed into her nightgown. She loved hearing him laugh. But her happy feelings didn't last too long and she reached for her special book, her journal.

She curled up in bed with it. Some might be surprised that she had one, because life in the tower was rather boring. But that's actually exactly why she started it in the first place. It began as a place to record things like the weather, temperature, and any animals she saw, and then turned into her thoughts, feelings, and dreams. She fiddled with her pen before starting to write:

_July 7_

_Bad day today. _Very_ bad day. I thought it might be bad because we came back and I was afraid we'd get yelled at. Well, that sort of happened, but it wasn't as bad as it could be._

_No, the very bad part is that Eugene has to have a trial. Not for running away with me, of course, but because of the whole Flynn Rider thing. I don't know why people care about that so much. Can't they see he's changed?_

_Well, I'll just make them see it. They have to know what he did for me. I think I might be more okay with this, except Eugene is so worried. It's like he thinks that there's no way that this could turn out well. When he first told me, I was assuring him that it would be fine, and then he just said (with the saddest face and eyes I've ever seen, almost as bad as the tower) that not every story has a happy ending._

_I almost cried at that, because I knew that he meant our story might not have the happily ever after. Maybe we wouldn't be able to be together anymore. And he'd…he'd….be hung…_

_NO. I can't believe I wrote that. Everything will be fine. They'll pardon him, and everything will be back the way it was._

_I have to believe that. I have to think positively. And I can't give up._

_Otherwise, I think I'll just go crazy worrying._

_Rapunzel_

XxXxXxXx

The next morning Rapunzel awoke to a soft knock on her door. Almost immediately she wondered who it was, because she knew it couldn't be Eugene. He was _never _awake before she was and she often didn't even see him until breakfast. But she still got out of bed, put her robe on, and answered the door.

It was her mother. "Good morning, dear," she said. "Did I wake you?"

She had, but Rapunzel wasn't going to say so. She knew enough from her princess lessons that it wouldn't be polite. "No," she said, then was overcome by a large yawn. She tried to cover it up but it was clear her mother saw it.

Mama smiled. "I think maybe I have," she said with a small laugh. "But I have good news for you."

Good news? It was about time she heard some of that! Maybe it'd be about Eugene. "Eugene doesn't have to have a trial?" she asked eagerly.

Mama bit her lip. "No," she said slowly. "But we've decided that you two can have the day together."

She felt slightly deflated that there was still a trial, but the news that she could spend the day with Eugene was amazing. "By…ourselves?"

Mama smiled again. "Yes."

She let a happy squeal and hugged her mother. They'd have the whole day! Without any lessons or anything! She heard Mama laugh a little and then she felt her hug her back. "Thank you," she said happily. Then she pulled away and started frantically changing into one of her dresses.

"What are you doing, dear?" Mama asked.

She threw open the door. "What do you think?" she said. "I'm going to tell Eugene."

XxXxXxXx

Eugene thought it sounded too good to be true. The whole day with Rapunzel? Alone? Was there anything more perfect than that?

Then he reminded himself that it was probably because of the trial, and her parents were giving them the day, just in case it was the last one. And his enthusiasm waned after that. How could it not? Rapunzel's did not, however, and he wondered if she fully understood why they could do this. As they left for their picnic lunch by the lake, he even asked her about it. "Rapunzel, you know why your parents allowed this, don't you?"

For the first time, her happy expression vanished and her eyes turned serious. "Of course I do," she answered. And then she said something that he never forgot. "But if I think about tomorrow, I won't be able to enjoy today." She gently reached for his hand. "Okay, Eugene? Let's just enjoy today. Tomorrow will come soon enough."

He squeezed her hand. "Okay." He knew that meant that they wouldn't talk about the trial the next day either.

And they didn't. They didn't when they walked near the lake, holding hands. They didn't when they went to the meadow and he picked her flowers. They didn't when he started tickling her after she beat him at tag or when they tripped and fell to the ground- her face so close that he couldn't help but kiss her. He felt like he could stay like that forever, but soon she bounded up again. "Aren't you hungry, Eugene?" she asked him. "I'm so hungry I could eat….something huge!"

He laughed and walked over to her. "You could eat a whale?" he joked.

She stood over where the picnic basket was with a thoughtful expression. "Hmmm," she said thoughtfully. "I don't know about that. But I _am _hungry, and I want to eat." She sat down with a plunk and started rummaging through the basket.

He laughed again, and sat next to her. "I am too."

They began to eat, and chatted about everything and nothing. He found himself enjoying their time together immensely, but part of him was worried about the next day. Yet he tried to hide it because it would only spoil the day. After the finished eating, he sprawled out on the grass, feeling slightly tired. He hadn't been sleeping much lately, and it was beginning to catch up with him. Yet the ground wasn't an ideal resting place. "Ugh," he grumbled. "This grass is so itchy and uncomfortable."

She smiled in amusement. "I'm sure it is just _devastated_ that it doesn't meet your requirements."

He grinned back. He loved how she could tease him too, and almost match his wit. "Well, it should be. I mean, considering that I'm gracing it with my presence."

"Maybe," she replied. "It just doesn't realize your full importance."

"Oh, that's obvious," he told her. "Otherwise it would immediately turn softer."

"There is," she said. "You know, always the option of not laying on it. In case it decides to not meet your wishes."

He looked at her in curiosity. "What are you talking about?"

A faint blush crept unto her cheeks. "Well…you could put your head here," she gestured to her lap. "It might be more comfortable. But only if you wanted to."

He thought that Rapunzel just hit a new level of cuteness. Because seriously, was there anything cuter than what she had just said? She was normally cute, but this was almost adorable. "Hmmm," he pretended to consider it (of course he wasn't serious- why wouldn't he want to put his head in her lap, in the lap of the girl he loved most in the world?). "Well, that might actually meet- even exceed- my expectations."

She laughed. "I'm so glad I meet your approval."

"Oh, but of course!" He scouted over to her, and rested his head on her lap. She immediately sighed, and started fiddling with his hair. Which felt awfully nice. He thought they'd chat more, but they didn't. Neither of them could come up with much to say and it could guess that it was enough that they were still together. Eugene himself found that resting his head in Rapunzel's lap with her hand stroking his hair was so relaxing that he felt very sleepy. So he dozed off.

Rapunzel was not oblivious to this, and as soon as she heard his soft snores, she pulled out her sketchpad and started to draw the lake across from them. But soon her lines turned into the face of the man slumbering in her lap. And her mind drifted back to the last time his head had been in her lap:

The tower. When he was dying. She stopped drawing as she remembered vividly every single minute when she thought he was gone and the devastation she'd felt. She'd held him just like this too, except she had cradled his face, wishing he'd come back. Tears her eyes, and she fought to hold them back. She didn't want to cry; it could destroy her whole day. If she thought about it long enough, she'd be right back in the tower, never mind the fact that he was still snoring and she could see the regular rise and fall of his chest. She had to think of something else. But part of her couldn't help worrying that she'd lose him again soon. She knew that despite what she'd said, he was right when he told her that they could very well decide to….

No. She said she would not think that way, and she wouldn't. It'd only depress her and the day would be ruined. So, she started working on her sketch again, paying particular attention to his nose. She wanted to get it just right because he liked it so much. Soon she was so absorbed in her drawing that she hadn't even noticed that he'd woken up until he started talking to her.

"So, what'd you do while I was sleeping?" He was smiling up at her.

She felt her cheeks turn pink. What would he think if he knew she'd drawn him? "Um….I drew."

"What'd you draw?" he asked.

Okay, now her cheeks were red. "Uh….you?"

"Really?" he said, with a big grin. "Let me see!"

Almost reluctantly she handed it to him. She really hoped that he liked it. He sat all the way up and studied it, crocking his head this way and that. The silence made her nervous. "Do you….like it?"

A slow smile spread across his face. "I love it," he said. "It's perfect. It looks exactly like me, the nose and all."

She beamed. "I'm glad."

XxXxXxXx

The rest of the day was a happy blur of talking, walking, and playing chess. She'd brought it for fun, because she thought maybe he'd be able to beat her. He didn't. But he'd told her at dinner with her parents that he hadn't minded….too much. She wasn't sure about that, but everything was wonderful between them and the day had been perfect. After dinner, he walked her to her room, like he had many times before, but she couldn't miss the tenderness he wore on her face- that he'd been wearing since they'd left the dining room actually. And she felt her heart start to pound as he took her hands, so she started babbling nervously. "You know, Eugene, I really think that we should have done another round. You might have been able to beat me and…."

He shook her head with a small smile. "Let's not talk about that right now, Rapunzel," he said. "Not when there's something important that I need to say."

She stared at their hands, then up at him. "Yes?" she managed to squeak.

"Whatever happens tomorrow," he said. "You should know that I wouldn't change one thing about our time together, all right? I'd do it all the same way, even if it means that after tomorrow we won't…." Rapunzel felt tears pricking her eyes, and her gaze traveled down at the ground. His voice trailed off. Instead of talking more, his hand tilted her chin up and looked deeply into her eyes. "Rapunzel, I love you."

A tear trickled down her cheek at the words. Of course, she knew he did. He's shown that over and over to her. But now? Hearing the words on the verge of the trial? It was more than she could take. But he was looking at her still, his eyes confused, and she let a muffled sob. She thrust her arms around him. "I love you too, Eugene," she choked out. "So much!"

He put his arms around her and his hand stroked her hair. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me," he said softly in her ear. He pulled away from her, and she was almost afraid that she'd done something wrong. But then he put one hand on the side of her face and kissed her. Afterward, he smiled at her. "Good night, Blondie."

She smiled at the nickname. "Night, Eugene." As they parted ways, she was sure that they were both thinking the same thing:

Was tonight the last time they'd do this? Or would the trial tomorrow end everything?


	7. Judgment

**Chapter 7-Judgment**

Eugene tried to sleep that night, he really did. The only problem was that every time he shut his eyes, he saw himself in court with everyone screaming "guilty" and "hang him" over and over. And if that wasn't bad enough, the other thing he saw was noose after noose, and black-hooded executioners sneering maliciously and cracking whips. So who could sleep with that image in mind?

No one could. He couldn't, anyway.

So he just lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling instead, thinking about the trial and what might happen. What if they said they would execute him?

He didn't know if he could bear leaving Rapunzel again. But he slammed a lid on those kinds of thoughts. He had to think of something…._happy_ or he'd never be able to sleep. So instead he thought about the wonderful day he'd just had with her. He thought about their good night. He found himself smiling in spite of everything, because of one thing she'd said:

She loved him. _She _loved _him. _She- a princess and the sweetest, smartest, most beautiful girl in the world- loved him, who was just a common orphan boy.

How had he gotten so lucky? And never mind that it might all end tomorrow. He tried to think on the positive side, like Rapunzel would. Now what might she think? Probably something along the lines of they'd pardon him, and they'd get married and live happily ever after. He found himself smiling again. Now there was a happy thought. He'd be with her forever, and he'd even get his dream castle too. Was there anything better than that?

But his smile soon slipped off his face. Suddenly he remembered one of the members of the Council: Lord Howard- someone he'd stolen from a few years ago. Well, that was it, he decided with finality, all positive thoughts flying out of his mind.

He was doomed.

He was even _more_ doomed that he had been in the tower, which was really saying something. He had died in the tower, but Rapunzel had been able to save him with her healing tears. He didn't feel like she could save him from the gallows. Surely Lord Howard would do all he could to make sure he suffered some punishment for his crime. Most likely execution.

He was doomed.

Being doomed made it impossible to sleep, and he tossed and turned practically the entire night, dreading the trial. But whatever the verdict was, he knew that when he told Rapunzel that he wouldn't change one thing about their time together, he'd meant it.

Even if he'd lose her.

XxXxXxXx

He might have dozed off slightly; he wasn't sure. But the next thing he knew, light was streaming into her room and he heard a knock on his door. He forced himself out of bed and answered it.

It was Rapunzel, looking rather tired herself, but she managed to smile. That was just the kind of sunshiny person she was. Always happy, always smiling, always optimistic. Sometimes he wished he could be more like her, but his life had jaded him too much for that to happen. "Good morning, Eugene."

He mumbled something akin to a greeting. She tried to smile again, but he could tell by the way her eyes were that she had noticed his haggard appearance and she hadn't missed his very cheery greeting. Or lack thereof. "You didn't sleep well, did you?" she said sympathetically.

And that is reason #2053 why she's the best girl in the world. Anybody else might have said something like you look awful. He couldn't ever really look_ that _bad of course, but he probably didn't look his best. "No."

She frowned. "Did you sleep….at all?"

He didn't want to lie to her. "Not much."

"Not_ much_?" she said, with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, Eugene." She sighed, and touched his arm. "I'm sorry."

Rapunzel was so sweet. "How about you?"

She shook her head. "I didn't sleep much either." She looked down at her feet, and he thought he saw her blink several times. But he couldn't be sure because she quickly met his eyes again. "My parents have breakfast ready if you want any."

Ha. Usually he would love to, but right now his stomach was tied up in too many nervous knots to even consider it. "Honestly, Blondie, I couldn't imagine eating anything right now."

She nodded, and her eyes were full of understanding. His heart warmed. Had anyone understood him like she did? "I know, Eugene," she said. "I can't eat anything either." She bit her lip. "But everything will be fine."

_It _has _to. _She didn't say that aloud, but then she didn't need to. He could hear it in her silence. She wouldn't even entertain the possibility that he might be dead in a few days, and so it was pointless to bring it up. He knew what he was supposed to do now, which was agreeing with her. But he couldn't do it. He wasn't at all sure it would be fine, especially now that he knew Lord Howard was one of the council members. So instead he put her arms around her and held her close. "I love you, Rapunzel," he said softly.

Immediately Rapunzel hugged him back, relishing having his arms around her, and she felt a small thrill at hearing him say he loved her again. Yet she felt he was saying it because he thought today was….well, almost the end. "I love you more," she whispered. No sooner had the words left her lips did she regret them. That's what she used to say with Gothel! Eugene wasn't Gothel, and she didn't want to treat him the same. She mentally prepared herself to hear Gothel's response: _I love you most. _

But he surprised her. He pulled away slightly to look deeply into her eyes. "I love you a thousand crowns and islands."

Her heart leapt at that. She knew that it was his way of telling her how much he loved her- which was a lot, considering those had been his dreams. And there was only one thing she could say to express the same. "I love you a million floating lanterns."

For the first time that morning she saw him smile and she thought he might even kiss her, except for one thing. Her father's advisor came and told them it was time.

Time to face whatever the future held.

XxXxXxX

Once they reached the meeting, Rapunzel really didn't know what to expect.

Eugene knew exactly what to expect. Truly, that was the problem. He knew, right as soon as he saw grouchy Lord Howard glare at him, that he'd been right to think this wasn't going to be easy. Lord Parr and Lord Palamoor's faces were equally grim. Only Lord Gray managed anything remotely close to a smile, and the King and Queen did too. But he still knew in that moment it would take practically a miracle to save him now. Yet he didn't mention any of it to Rapunzel. Instead, he did his best to answer the many questions that Lord Howard asked him, most of which were asked in a way that was intended to bring out his guilt.

Eventually, Lord Howard brought out a sheet of paper, and he glimpsed the signature on the bottom. It was Luke's, the guard who had questioned him the night of the lanterns. "This _is _your statement, correct?" Lord Howard asked.

He swallowed. He'd basically admitted to everything that day. "Yes…."

"And you admit to…." He gestured at the long list. "All these crimes?"

He just looked at Lord Howard. Was it just him or was he purposefully baiting him? He felt Rapunzel touch his hand and he knew now that he wasn't. "Uh…yes?"

"So, you would also admit that we have enough evidence to hang you again?" he said.

He tried to inhale. He couldn't. Could Lord Howard really talk like this? _Bully _him like this? This whole scene was like something out of his nightmares.

Literally.

Rapunzel stiffened up next to him, and he knew she was furious. "Lord Howard," she said icily. "I don't think-…."

Suddenly the King spoke. "Lord Howard, I think we should proceed, maybe without Mr. Fitzherbert here."

"You mean Mr. Ri-…" Lord Howard corrected.

The King interrupted again. "That's enough," he said quietly. "Eugene, would you give us a few minutes alone please?"

At that, he felt a heavy load of increased anxiety weigh him down. "Uh sure…." He didn't know what it meant to be sent out of the room, but it couldn't be good. Right?

XxXxXxXx

Rapunzel watched Eugene go, her stomach churning. She couldn't believe how Lord Howard had treated Eugene! Why, everything he said was pompous and condescending. It was like he _wanted_ to destroy him. He probably did, and enjoyed every minute of it. She was glad though, that her father had interjected and sent Eugene out. She didn't know if it was a good thing, but at least she wouldn't have to listen to him be verbally tortured.

She watched the council members talk amongst themselves quietly, and she felt an urge to speak and she succumbed to it. "If I may," she said in her politest tone. "I'd like to say a couple words about Eugene before you continue."

Lord Howard rolled his eyes. "We all know of your infatuation with the defendant, Princess. I'm not sure that anything you say could help, considering how biased you are."

She bristled at his implication, but it probably wouldn't get her anywhere if she yelled at him. She wasn't any more biased than he was! She knew that much from the few princess lessons she'd had. What she had to do was mask her impolite words with a polite tone. Even if she did wish she could smash her frying pan on his head. "Pardon me," she said sweetly. "But I believe you are just as 'biased' as I am-except in the opposite direction."

"Princess…." He began, his face starting to turn a satisfying shade of red.

"Besides, I have an advantage over you-all of you," she continued, pretending that she hadn't heard him. "I know who the real man is in this case-Eugene. You don't. And the worst part is, in your case, Lord Howard, you don't want to, and you don't even care."

Lord Gray cleared his throat. "Princess," he said kindly. "Why don't you tell us about….em, Eugene?"

She smiled, just thinking about Eugene and how much she loved him. "Eugene is wonderful."

Lord Howard snorted. "Please," she heard him mutter.

"Continue," Lord Gray said. "And ignore Lord Howard. He's always like this in a meeting- he never even lets the king say anything sometimes."

Deep within her, she knew she somehow had an ally in Lord Gray. And she felt so much gratitude toward him she couldn't even express it. "Eugene is….he's just so sweet," she said. "Did you know he died for me? And brought me home? Flynn would have never done that because Flynn only thought of himself. But there is no Flynn anymore. He's gone. There's only Eugene, and Eugene, the brave, courageous, kind, selfless man deserves a second chance. Please give him that chance."

She noticed that Lord Gray's expression had softened, and so had Lord Palamoor's. But Lord Howard and Lord Parr still had stern expressions. "So, what do you suggest we do?" argued Lord Howard. "Do nothing to one of the most wanted criminals in all of Coronian history?"

Her mouth opened to say yes, but she knew that wouldn't get her anywhere either. And it would probably surprise them if she said no. "No."

She was rewarded by a shocked expression on Lord Howard's face. It was_ very_ satisfying. "No, Princess?"

"No," she said again. "He could do….restitution or something. But I don't think you should kill the man who brought back your princess, and if weren't for Eugene, I'd still be trapped with the woman who I thought was my mother."

The four lords exchanged looks, but she didn't how to read those at all. "Thank you, Princess," Lord Gray said. "We'll take what you've said into consideration."

She stared at him, shocked. That was it? They were dismissing her? Could they do that? "Um, okay," she managed to say. "Thank you for listening." Papa smiled at her, but she found it hard to smile back.

For the first time, she felt that perhaps Eugene was right. Maybe….maybe this wasn't going to turn out the way she thought it would.

XxXxXxXx

While the Council deliberated, Eugene sat outside, trying not to worry too much. He wished he could hear what they were saying, but all he could make up was several deep voices, followed occasionally by Rapunzel's higher one. Once he could swear that he heard the Queen too, but he wouldn't bet his life on it.

Ha. It was kind of scary that his life _was_ actually being discussed by the people in that room. He wondered what he would do if he were in their shoes. Would he give himself a second chance? He didn't even know. Should ten years of thieving be erased because he'd brought the princess back? He wanted it to be, he really did.

But he wasn't at all sure it would. Lord Howard had been even more ruthless than he thought he would be. He seemed insistent on destroying his life and making him pay. Besides that, he seemed to have this constant urge to make him feel like a slug.

No, maybe even lower than a slug. His harsh remarks rang in his mind, and reminded him of all the degrading remarks that he grew up hearing.

Suddenly, Rapunzel came back out, but her face was unreadable- which wasn't particularly encouraging. It was a bad sign, really. If she had good news, she would be smiling, not looking impassive. She sat next to him quietly. "Rapunzel….how did it go?"

She stared down at her hands instead of at him. Another bad sign. She hardly ever failed to make eye contact with him, unless she was very upset about something. "I don't know, Eugene," she said finally. "They listened to me." She stopped herself and bit her lip. "Well, at least some of them did. But honestly, Eugene, there's….there's a lot against you."

"I know," he answered softly. And he did. There was enough evidence to condemn him five times over.

She turned to him, with an earnest look on her face. "But whatever….whatever happens, Eugene. I did all I could."

"I know you did," he said. And he meant it. He knew that she had done everything she could, _said_ everything she could to convince them to be lenient.

As they sat there in silence, he noticed that she was wringing her hands in her lap- and he knew it hadn't gone the way she hoped. But despite that, he took her hand to stop her. "It's going to be-…."

She shook her head to stop him, and he knew that-for the first time- she was finally going to acknowledge reality. "You don't know that, Eugene," she whispered, her eyes wide with anxiety. "What if it isn't?"

He sighed deeply. It was harder than he thought to actually hear her say that. She was such an optimistic person that for her to sound upset didn't do anything for his own confidence. Or, at this point, lack thereof. "I don't know," he admitted slowly. "Maybe…..it won't be."

Instantly her gaze dropped down to her lap again, and he thought he saw her blink several times. He cringed inwardly. Why had he been so stupid? Surely that wasn't what she should hear right now. Even if it was the truth. "Rapunzel…"

He never got to finish that sentence. The door abruptly swung open, and Lord Gray walked out. "You can both come in, now," he said. His face was unreadable too. Great.

Rapunzel jumped up and practically dragged him along with her. "Good," she said. They sat down where they'd both sat before and waited for them to tell him the verdict.

"We've come to a decision," said Lord Howard. Did he see a glint of triumph in his eyes?

He immediately tensed up, and she gently squeezed his hand- as if to comfort him somehow. He was afraid, though, it would take much more than her hand to erase the lump of lead in his stomach. "Yes?" he managed to say.

"By any standard of the law, we should call for your execution. Again."

He winced. "Yes, I know." Unconsciously, he gripped her hand tighter.

"There's no denying that you are guilty."

He winced again, and he knew that now he was probably breaking her hand now. "I know that too."

"So here is our decision," he said, and pulled out a sheet of paper. "The Supreme Council and Court of the Kingdom of Corona hereby finds Flynn Rider guilty of the crimes which he has been accused of and therefore sentences him to lifetime banishment," Lord Howard read. "If he dares to return, he will immediately be subject to either execution or lifetime imprisonment, as it pleases the Council."

* * *

><p>AN: So...would that constitue a cliffhanger? I don't know. I guess it is. haha.<p>

So, I updated twice in one month! I'm so proud, lol. But that's because I'm done with school! YAY! And not just for this year, but forever! I'm all done college! *dances around in a circle* and so there's so much more time now to write stories about my favorite couple, and it's fun! I missed it. I missed having time to...breathe!

Anyway, I know this wasn't a happy chapter, but I'm sorry to say there are many sad chapters forthcoming. I hope you all will bear with me, and believe me when it will all be fine. It will. I promise. Neither Eugene nor Rapunzel could say that truthfully, but I can because I'm the author. And it wil. Trust me.

The funny thing about writing this chapter was that while I was writing Rapunzel trying to convince herself that everything would be okay, I was doing the same thing in my own life. Isn't that weird? How fiction comes into real life? All this is to say that I know how that feels now, and it's not particularly fun.

Anyway again. That's all for now. Really.

Thank you for reading!

FL 6


	8. Banished

A/N: Another update in about a week! I'm very happy about that. it's mostly because I don't have school anymore, so I have lots more time to write which is really nice!

This chapter features a very annoyed Rapunzel and a rather deflated Eugene, and I hope they sound like themselves. I have to say that this has probably been one of my favorite stories to write, just because it deals with emotional pain, which is something I am _very _familiar with. Haha. So it's sort of cathartic.

Ahem. Anyway, if you're reading please review. I'd love to hear what you think.

As always, thanks for reading!

FL 6

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8-Banished <strong>

**As **soon as they proclaimed their verdict, Rapunzel felt an urge to scream-to yell in anger and despair. It was amazing to her that she could have those two emotions simultaneously, but she did. She felt complete frustration and unfathomable sadness at Lord Howard's words. She restrained herself, however, from raising her voice and all she said was a simple "What?" Maybe she'd heard wrong. Maybe….

"You didn't hear the verdict, Princess?" asked Lord Howard.

She hadn't known that there was anything wrong with her hearing. Surely Lord Howard had to be one of the most condescending men she'd ever met. "Oh, I heard it," she said icily. "I just don't understand it."

"And why is that?" he said.

"I don't understand how you can banish the man who rescued me," she informed him, trying her hardest not to lose her temper.

"Honestly, Princess," he said, with a shake of his head. "Do you realize how lucky he is? It would be very easy for us to execute him."

Rapunzel literally bit her tongue to keep from saying something rude. It wouldn't help anything, even if it would be satisfying to tell him off. "You can't do this to him."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh really?"

"_Yes_," she insisted. "How can you even _think_ of doing anything to him? I mean…" She felt Eugene's hand on her arm. "Rapunzel," he whispered, his eyes filled with resignation. She hated it. "You don't…."

She knew what he was going to say, that she didn't have to argue with them on his behalf. But she did, and he just didn't understand that. She shook her head vigorously at him. "No," she said, standing up. "This is wrong, Eugene! And I won't stand by and let it happen." She pointed her finger at Lord Howard, anger filling her. "Do you know what you've done? Eugene is _everything _to me! He died for me! He's my best friend! And you can't just….you can't just…." Suddenly all of her frustration left her and she felt an overwhelming urge to cry. "You can't just…." Her face crumpled and she ran out of the room.

Eugene looked after her, and then got out of her seat. "I'm sorry, but I have to…." He had to make sure that she was okay and somehow they didn't stop him.

XxXxXxX

He found her in the garden with her face in her hands. He touched her shoulder. "Rapunzel?" She looked at him, with tears still in her eyes. "Eugene?" Before he could say anything, she was hugging him so tight he couldn't breathe and he heard her start crying into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. "Shh," he said soothingly. "Shh, it's going to be all right."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, it's not," she sobbed. "No, it's not, no it's not!"

He didn't know what to say now. He knew it wasn't going to be all right; it couldn't be now that the Council had given their verdict. Yet how could he agree with her? Wouldn't that make everything worse? So instead of saying anything, he continued to hold her and stroke her back, hoping that would help.

Rapunzel felt Eugene's arms around her-and it _was_ comforting- yet she couldn't stop crying. How could she? The only man she loved (the only man she could _ever_ love) was about to be torn away from her. She wouldn't stop crying, she couldn't, not when there was absolutely no reason to. She couldn't imagine one day without Eugene, much less an entire lifetime. How would she ever survive being a princess without him? He was the only person here that actually kept her from insanity. Everyone else made her want to run back to her tower screaming because of their senseless rules and etiquette. And no one else understood her feelings like he did, not even her parents. He was her best friend, really the only friend she had.

Suddenly she felt utterly and completely alone in the world, even though he still had his arms around her, and another wave of emotion came over her. She buried her head even further into his shoulder and started to sob again.

Eugene listened to her cry, and it made his heart ache even more than it was already. He hated the Council's verdict of course, but what really hurt him more than anything was seeing Rapunzel so miserable. He wished he could fix it for her, but there was nothing, _nothing_ he could say to make this better.

"Eugene," he heard her say suddenly. "How could this happen?"

He assumed that was a rhetorical question, because he could easily list off reasons why, starting with the crown and going on from there. But that would _not_ be helpful. "I don't know, Blondie," he said, even though he did. He knew all too well. "Bad things happen." A bad thing wasn't a very good description (try a catastrophe) but he didn't say more. Which was good because Rapunzel started blabbing in a choked voice.

"I did _everything _I could, Eugene," she cried. "Everything!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Why didn't they listen? Why didn't they care?"

He started stroking her back again. "I don't know, Blondie," he said again. He knew why they didn't, but he wasn't about to tell her. He decided it was time to stop her from thinking that this was because of something she did-or didn't- do. He looked her squarely in the eyes. "But none_, none_ of this is your fault."

Her eyes were still full of sadness, and he felt that no matter what, he wasn't going to be able to help her feel any better. He also wasn't sure that she completely believed that she was faultless in this. Her expression hadn't changed at all, and he wondered what he could do to convince her. "I don't want you to go," she whispered, her big green eyes shining with tears.

Her words pierced him just like Gothel's dagger had, a stabbing pain that went straight to his heart. He yearned to tell her that he wouldn't ever, but he couldn't do it. Instead he pulled her closer, trying to show her without words that he didn't want to either. She clung to him, trying not to cry, until the guards came.

He expected that they would drag him off to jail, but that wasn't exactly what happened. Instead, they told him that he would have the afternoon to pack up his belongings, and tonight he would spend in jail. Tomorrow he would leave.

They sure weren't wasting any time, were they? Yet he knew that the King and Queen must have been working in his favor, convincing them that he wouldn't run off- and take Rapunzel with him (which was very tempting, he had to admit). Otherwise, he wouldn't probably be given any time to pack up anything. He looked at Rapunzel, expecting her to say something in protest. But her face was blank and all she said was "You should go pack, Eugene."

He couldn't believe it, and he had the urge to wave his hand in front of her face to make sure she was awake. Hadn't she said two minutes ago that she didn't want him to leave? Yet he resisted and instead stood up. "Okay, I guess I'll see you later then?"

For the first time, he thought she was almost smiling. "Of course, Eugene," she said. "That's why you need to go hurry up and get all your things together."

"But…but what will you do?" he asked, almost completely confused now.

Now a real smile appeared on her face, and frankly he couldn't understand it. "Oh, don't worry, Eugene," she said. "I'll figure something out."

It was then that she knew she was up to something. Her eyes hinted at some secret scheme. Yet what that was, he hadn't the slightest idea. So he went into the castle and somehow made it to his room. He hesitated at the doorway, just looking in. After today, he wouldn't live here anymore. Not that he'd really spent a lot of time there, besides sleeping of course. Often he'd been in the library, in the garden, or with Rapunzel. Yet he still was awfully fond of it. His room was clean, well-kept, and certainly the biggest he'd ever had- and it was in a castle to boot. It was perfect.

Yet his life here was all over now. He tried not to wallow too much as he shoved his few clothes in a bag and a few other miscellaneous things- his copy of _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider, _the drawing of him that Rapunzel had done…some other little objects here and there.

With his packing done, he wasn't sure what to do. Rapunzel was who knows where and the guards weren't supposed to come for him until later. With nothing really to do, he found himself scribbling down a letter.

A last letter to Rapunzel that would hopefully tell her how much she meant to him.

_June 20_

_My dear Rapunzel,_

_If you're reading this, I must be gone. Okay, not gone in the sense that I'm dead, because I'm not, but I might as well be. It feels like I am, because I won't be with you._

_Anyway, I'm not saying this well, but I hate that I've been banished. I hate that I have to leave you. You're my life, Rapunzel. You saved my life. You showed me that Eugene was somebody worthwhile, and because of that, I tried to live up to it. So I stopped being Flynn and went back to Eugene. And Eugene loved every minute he spent with you, and wanted to be with you forever._

_Flynn cut in though, and my past caught up with me. And now I have to pay. I'm banished. I can't come back, or I really will be dead. I know you hate this, and you are just as devastated as I am that we can't be together._

_But you'll go on, and be the best queen Corona has ever seen. And you'll find someone else who will help you rule-but it won't be me._

_And to be honest, the truth, Rapunzel, is that I'm not good enough for you anyway. You should have the most royal prince, who can give you the life you deserve. You deserve somebody who doesn't have a shady past like I do, somebody who is….I don't know. Noble, or something. Brilliant and educated. You'll find out that I'm right by and by when you fall for someone else. There's somebody else out there, Rapunzel. You'll want someone else._

_I know this is making you angry, so I'll stop. I'm going to make you promise that you will, though, the last time I see you._

_One more thing…..I love you. I'll love you forever. Just because I want you to move on doesn't mean I want you to….forget me completely. I just don't want you to spend the rest of your life…I don't know, pining over me. I'm not worth it, Rapunzel._

_Please live your life to the fullest. That's what I want for you._

_Love,_

_Eugene_

_P.S. Goodbye, my love._

He sighed once he finished. It wasn't at all what he wanted to say, and poetry it was not. He frowned when he re-read the part about him not being good enough for her. It was true, but it definitely gave his psyche a blow to read it in his own handwriting. Well, he surely did not want to give it to her now. It was…just not how he wanted her to remember him.

He put the letter into the envelope with her name on it, but he shoved it down into the floor cracks.

He'd just have to say a proper goodbye some other way.

XxXxXxXx

Meanwhile, Rapunzel was talking to her parents, attempting to convince them to change Eugene's sentence. It was her grand scheme to keep him here, with her. So far she wasn't succeeding, but she wasn't about to give up. "But Papa," she argued. "He _saved _me! Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Of course it does, Rapunzel," he assured her. "But that doesn't negate all the bad things he did."

"But Papa," she began again. She was not going to stop trying. Surely there had to be something she could say to convince him.

"Rapunzel," he interrupted, gently but firmly. "I know you're upset." Upset? She couldn't believe that he used that word. Upset was when you made a mistake, upset was when you misplaced something. Upset was _not_ when you lose your one true love, and she was stunned he said it. Try heartbroken, devastated, distraught…

Because of her thoughts, she almost missed what her father said next. "But you have to understand that he deserved the death penalty," he continued in a composed voice. "It was _because_ of what he did for you that Lord Gray and I convinced them to banish him instead. We thought that was better."

She couldn't believe her ears and she felt aggravation well up in her again. "Better?" she cried, her voice escalating in volume with every syllable she uttered. "_Better?_ Are you kidding me?" She knew she was not acting like a princess, but she could not care less right now. How could Papa say these things?

"Rapunzel…." It was her mother speaking now, in a warning tone.

But she ignored it. She wasn't about to let a remark like that go. "So you think that it's _better _that he's alive, yet we can't be together? Are you serious?" She wanted to stamp her foot, but she resisted. She _was _acting immature, but she didn't need to completely act like a two year old. "No, it makes it ten times worse! Because for my _entire life _I'll be thinking about him being out there- and not being with _me_!"

"Rapunzel, please," Mama said again. "Calm down."

She began to pace across the room, wringing her hands at the same time. She had to do something with all her pent-up frustration. "Calm down?" she practically shrieked. "Calm down? Are you serious? The man I love is about to leave forever and you want me to _calm down?" _ From the look on Papa's face, that's exactly what he wanted. But Mama's eyes filled with compassion.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she said softly. "I wish things could be different."

Mama's sympathy did much to alleviate her anger, but there was still some remaining. And she wasn't finished fighting. "Then do something, Mama," she pleaded. "You're the Queen. Can't you change the sentence?"

Mama locked gazes with Papa, and she didn't miss the helplessness in her mother's face. Obviously she didn't know what to say. "Honey," Papa said. "We can't. You see, Flynn's-…."

"_Eugene's,_" she corrected firmly. Why was everyone so obsessed with Flynn? There wasn't any Flynn anymore, just like she'd told the council.

Papa blinked. "Right," he said. "Eugene. Well, Eugene's-as you say- case was sort of an appeal."

"An…appeal?" She didn't know any legal jargon at all, and what Papa was saying was as clear as mud. "I'm not sure I understand."

Mama jumped in. "Rapunzel, we decided to appeal the original sentence because of…well, what he did and how much you care about him. We couldn't do nothing with him, you know."

She didn't. As far as she could see, there was no reason why he couldn't just be with her in the palace. He'd saved her and brought her back. She didn't understand why that wasn't enough for anyone. "O…kay."

"And any appeals have to go through the Council," Papa continued. "So hence the trial. We'd hoped they'd grant him a pardon."

Papa didn't have to tell her that they hadn't. "But why can't _you _give him the pardon?" she argued. "You're in charge, right? So can't you do that?"

Papa thought that clearly Rapunzel needed more lessons in politics. Mama thought that she wished to God that the laws that she knew about were different. "Sweetie," Mama said. "I'm sorry, we aren't able to do that. When a case goes through the Council, and they agree unanimously on a verdict, that's it. It stands. That's the law."

"Then _change _the law!" she begged. "Please!"

Mama's expression was one of anguish. "We can't. I'm so sorry."

It was in that moment that Rapunzel knew that no matter how much Mama might have wanted things to be different, she wasn't able to change the circumstances. The sentence would stand. She'd lose Eugene.

And now there wasn't anything she could do about it.

What was the point, she thought to herself, of being a princess if you couldn't even save the person you loved the most?

XxXxXxXx

After the fruitless conversation with her parents, Rapunzel went in search of Eugene. She needed to see him like she needed sunshine. She didn't have to look far either because she figured he'd be in his room, and he was. "Hey, Blondie," he greeted her.

She wanted to smile because she was glad to see him, but all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and cry. "Hello, Eugene," she said instead. "How was your afternoon?"

He just looked at her for a second, as if he was saying how do you _think _it was? But all he said was "Um, fine. What'd you do?"

All at once the strength left her body, and she might have fallen to the ground if Eugene hadn't managed to hold her up. "Oh, Eugene," she muttered into his shirt. How could she tell him that she'd failed again to help?

"Shh," he said, his hand reaching to stroke her hair. "Why don't you come sit down and tell me all about it?"

His kindness to her, even now, just made her want to cry. Surely he felt just as bad as she did, but he still cared so much about her feelings. It was breaking her heart, yet she still sat down. She had to tell him what she'd done. Or rather, what she _hadn't _done. "I went to talk to Mama and Papa," she informed him cautiously. "To see if there was any way they could change the verdict."

"Could they?" he asked calmly, not a hint of any emotion in his eyes. They way he said made her believe like he already knew the answer. Obviously he knew more about Corona law than she did. She supposed that wasn't necessarily unexpected. Probably even the grocer knew more than she did.

"No," she answered. She reached out and hugged him. Almost instantly she felt him hold her close. "I'm sorry. This is my fault!" Even as the words came out of her mouth, she felt that they were true. If she wasn't the princess, he could be free somewhere- and they wouldn't have to be apart.

She heard him audibly exhale. "It's not your fault, Blondie," he said softly. "It's not. Don't ever think that." She almost started crying at his gentle words, but she managed not to. She _wasn't_ going to cry all the time. Instead, she hugged him closer, and the two of them stayed with that way until the guards came again.

As soon as Eugene and Rapunzel saw them, they reluctantly let go of each other. His arms immediately missed her, but he still managed a small smile. "Guess that's my cue."

He didn't miss how she glanced down and blinked before she meet his eyes again. "Guess so," she said, her voice barely audible.

Her face looked so sad that he pulled her into one last hug, and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" If he even mentioned the fact that it would be the last time they ever saw each other, he knew she'd start crying again. Pretending that everything was normal was the only way that she wouldn't break down.

She nodded. "Of course," she said faintly. "Bye Eugene." Her eyes traveled down to her hands again, and there wasn't anything else to say. So he walked over to the guards, and handed them his bag. There were two of them and they looked at him with a mixture of triumph and loathing. He was sure that they'd have their own little party tonight, to celebrate his leaving. It made him sick. "If you're going to handcuff me," he said softly as soon as they left the room. "Do it when she can't see."

One of them, the one whose face was considerable less grumpy, spoke. "We're not going to," he said gruffly.

"No?" he returned. "Really?"

"No," Grumpy Guard 1 said. "Orders from the Queen." He blinked at him. "She was sure you wouldn't run off." The way he said made Eugene sure that he believed it the same way he believed in a blue moon. Meaning he didn't. In his heart of hearts, he probably couldn't blame him. Yet he also knew that the Queen was right. There were many things that he didn't do anymore, and running away was one of them.

Even if that would be much, much easier.

XxXxXxXx

Once they reached the jail, Eugene was surprised. His cell actually wasn't that bad, in contrast to the one he'd been in before. It was clean, and it had a bed too. Shocking. The guards must have noticed, because Grumpy Guard 1 spoke up again. "Queen's orders."

He nodded. "I see," he said simply. Inwardly though, he felt a rush of gratitude for the Queen. Her kindness toward him, even now, was unfathomable. It reminded him so much of Rapunzel.

Rapunzel…..Of course, his thoughts now went in her direction. How could it not? After tomorrow, he'd never see her again. He couldn't believe it and although it was somewhat absurd, he felt almost as if they might as well just kill him-because what kind of life could he possibly have with no Rapunzel in it? It would be almost like he was dead, because she brought so much joy to his life. And without her, he knew he'd feel alone again. Without friends or family.

All of a sudden, he saw Luke in front of him, the guard who questioned him the night of the lanterns and the only one he could stand. "So," he said. "I'd say it's a pleasure to see you here again, but-….."

He smiled wryly. "Mutual." As much as Luke was a nice person, he wouldn't have mind not seeing him if it meant he wouldn't be in prison again.

Luke gave a small nod. "You know, it's funny how you never mentioned then that your Rapunzel was the princess."

Of course he hadn't. He'd known something was up, but he hadn't had a clue that she was. Rapunzel herself didn't even know. "I didn't know," he said. "She told me later that she was."

He looked decidedly curious. "And what did you think about it?"

"I…hated it at first," he said slowly. That was completely true. He still remembered how awful he'd felt once she'd told him. He'd known-even then- that there was a chance they would be separated just like this. Because how could an orphan thief end up with a princess?

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Because I knew something like this could happen," he said simply.

Luke's eyes grew sad. "Yes, the banishment," he said. "I'm sure sorry about that, Mr. Rider."

Mr. Rider….Suddenly, he didn't want to be called that. He was sick of it, and he wanted Luke to know who he really was."Eugene."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Eugene," he said. "It's my real name."

A small smile spread across Luke's face. "Well, then, Eugene," he said. "I have to go work now, but I'll be around if you need anything."

The only thing he needed Luke couldn't give to him, but it was kind of him anyway. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

Luke gave him one final smile, and he walked away, leaving Eugene to resume his ruminations. Thinking about how much he hated that he had to leave her tomorrow.

Something that kept popping into his head was fairy tales and how in them the hero and heroine always ended up together in a perfect happy ending. What people don't tell you though, he mused, was that happy endings just don't happen in real life. They couldn't, because there was nothing happy about what would happen tomorrow. He'd have to say goodbye forever to Rapunzel, the girl that meant the world to him.

All at once, his old jadedness came back, and he felt angry at all those people who had told him fairy tales. Fairy tales never were real, and neither were happy endings. It was the truth that no one ever told you.

The truth that "happily ever after" didn't even exist.


	9. Goodbye

**Chapter 9-Goodbye**

**That **night, Rapunzel couldn't sleep. She knew that was to be expected when Eugene was about to leave her forever, but that didn't make it any easier to toss and turn. She craved sleep _now_, and she longed for the nothingness it would give her. In sleep, she wouldn't have to think about how much she'd miss him, or how much she wished things could be different. However, her brain just would not shut off no matter how many sheep she tried to count, and so she kept bouncing around in bed, thinking about what the next day would bring. Eugene would leave, and she'd be all alone again. She shifted onto her side, and bit her lip to keep from crying. Crying wouldn't do anything to change the circumstances, even if it might make her feel better.

But crying was passive, and she needed to do something…..something active. All she wanted right now was for Eugene to hold her and tell her it would be okay. Determinedly, she got out of bed and pulled on her robe. She was going to go see Eugene, and she didn't care how un-princessy it was. Quietly-yet quickly- she made her way down to the jail. It didn't escape her notice how utterly eerie the place was at night, and it was borderline creepy. Dark shadows surronded her, and she tried not to think about what might be causing them. She hated that Eugene had to stay here. The place was clean enough, but it still made her nervous. The sooner she could find him, the better.

A guard walked by her, and she instantly called out to him. "Hello, Princess," he said. "How can I help you?" Much to her surprise, he had a nice smile on his face, which seemed as out of place here as she was herself.

"I'd like to see Eugene, please," she said politely.

He nodded, though he didn't look all that surprised. Frankly, she had a hard time understanding that, but he was acting cordial enough to her. But she supposed he wasn't paid to be mean to princesses. "Of course, Princess," he said. "Follow me this way."

She made herself smile back, in gratitude at least. "Thank you…" Then, she realized she didn't know his name. "Um…"

"Luke," he offered. "I'm Luke."

XxXxXxXx

Eugene had almost fallen asleep when suddenly Luke's voice was calling him softly. "Eugene?"

He pulled his pillow over his head and groaned. Couldn't the guards leave him alone in peace during his last night in Corona? "Mmmmhhm."

"Eugene…," Luke said, louder this time. "You have a visitor. I'm letting her in."

As soon as he heard Luke say "her", he knew it was Rapunzel. "What are you doing here, Rapunzel?" he said, his face still buried beneath his pillow. Shouldn't she be in her own room like a normal princess?

Actually, come to think of it, she'd never been a normal princess, but she still should go back. Her parents would probably have a fit if they knew.

"I couldn't sleep," she said. "I just…."

"You should go back to your room," he told her. He didn't want her to get in trouble, which she would if anyone found out about it. He probably would too, though how he could get into bigger trouble than he was already in he couldn't even imagine.

Rapunzel felt a little surprised that he was telling her to leave, but she wasn't going to. Not until she got what she came for, and returning to her room sounded atrocious considering the circumstances. She bit her lip. "I just….I need you to hold me, and tell me it's going to be okay," she said softly. "Please, Eugene."

His shoulders slumped and she heard him sigh. And she knew he was going to give in. He might want her to return to her room, but he'd do as she asked. He moved over toward the wall, leaving a small space for her. "Okay," he said, in an all together different tone. A gentle and sweet one that she had a feeling he only used with her. "Come here, Blondie."

Cautiously she walked over and lay down next to him. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her close, so close that she could feel him breathing in her ear. "It's going to be okay," he whispered.

She blinked. He said that very well, even though she fully knew that it wasn't true. Yet with him so near to her, his arm around her, she let herself-just for a moment- believe that it would be.

XxXxXxXx

Eugene wasn't at all surprised that Rapunzel managed to fall asleep. He had figured that she might, which is another reason why he had initially resisted. Yet when she'dasked him- pleaded with him- to hold her, how could any man who claimed they loved a girl say no?

He couldn't anyway, so he'd let her stay. And he'd be lying if he didn't admit that he loved holding her like this. She perfectly fit into his arms, and he wished that he never had to let her go. Yet the fact of the matter was that he would. Tomorrow they'd be torn apart, and he couldn't do anything-save running away-to stop it. Truthfully, he thought sleepily, he was almost glad that she had come.

It was more time he could be with her before he'd leave.

XxXxXxX

The next morning, the Queen came to the jail almost as soon as she woke up, because Eugene's boat would leave early that morning. But once she reached Eugene's cell, she was surprised at what she saw:

Eugene was inside of course, but Rapunzel was there as well- sleeping next to him.

The Queen knew she should probably be furious with her daughter for sneaking out and sleeping in a jail of all places. But she wasn't. Truthfully, if she was Rapunzel and Eugene was her love, she probably would have done the same thing. Especially since she would never see him again, thanks to the Council. She used her mast key to open the door, and touched her daughter's shoulder. "Rapunzel?" she whispered. "Wake up."

Out of the fogginess of sleep, Rapunzel heard her mother talking to her. "Mama?" she said drowsily.

"Yes, dear," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Slowly memories of last night returned to her and she remembered bouncing around in her bed, too wound up to sleep. So she'd gone down to the jail, Eugene had held her, and...she must have fallen asleep. "I couldn't sleep," Rapunzel said. "Not when….." She couldn't finish the sentence. Saying it aloud would make it even more of a reality.

Understanding filled Mama's eyes. "I know," she said. "I know. Do you want any breakfast, dear?"

Eating? Her stomach felt full of lead, and she didn't feel like she'd ever be hungry again. "No, thanks," she said softly.

Mama glanced at Eugene again, and she followed her gaze with her own eyes. He was asleep still, his eyes closed. It reminded her of the first time she'd ever seen him, way back at the tower. Dear God, she thought. How on earth was she supposed to say goodbye to him?

Mama looked at her with something akin to anguished pity. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. But I came down here because it's time."

Mama's words affected her the same way a kick in the stomach would: she felt like she couldn't breathe. "Time? Already?" She blinked back a sudden rush of tears. "Okay…um…I guess I'll wake him up." Maybe if she could turn her brain off...turn her heart off, she could somehow do this. Somehow.

Mama patted her shoulder. "We'll be outside."

Rapunzel nodded and made herself do what Mama asked, even though she'd rather do anything else. She gently shook him. "Eugene?"

Nothing. She reminded herself that he was _not _a morning person and it'd probably take several attempts. "Eugene?" she repeated, louder this time. "Eugene!"

Finally he opened his eyes and yawned. "Rapunzel?" he asked sleepily. "What-…." Slowly, he blinked and she could tell he knew what she was about to say. "Oh. It's time, isn't it?"

She nodded miserably. What else was there to say?

XxXxXxX

They didn't say much when they walked to the boat. Rapunzel was trying not to cry, and Eugene was wondering how to say goodbye. The King and Queen were waiting for them at the dock, with two guards.

The Queen spoke first. "Eugene…I just-…" she said. "I just want to thank you again for everything you've done for Rapunzel. I wish….I wish things could be different." Abruptly, she stopped and embraced him, which greatly surprised him. Was he really hugging the _Queen_?

Soon, though, she pulled away again. "Goodbye, Eugene."

"Goodbye, your Majesty," he said.

The Queen walked away and now the King was facing him. He tried to focus on what they were saying, but he kept glancing over at Rapunzel. She wasn't even looking at him. Why wasn't she looking at him? "Eugene…I can only say the same as Gwenny," said the King, and he attempted to focus. "Thank you for everything you've done for Rapunzel. You have to know that if I could I'd change the sentence."

That was...incredibly kind of him to say that he would. "Thank you," he said gratefully. The King shook his hand. "Farewell, Eugene."

_Fare well_...How could he fare_ well_ when he was leaving? "Goodbye…" he said. The King joined his wife and finally he was alone with Rapunzel. Well, this is it, he thought to himself. He turned toward her, knowing that he had to say goodbye. But how to do that, he had no idea. Her head was down, but he could see her shoulders shaking. Then he heard her choke and begin to cry, loud, gut-wrenchingly loud sobs. He put his arms around her and stroked her back. "Shh," he said softly. "Shhh, it's going to be okay."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, it's not, Eugene! It's _never _going to be okay!" she wailed. "How can it be…if-if we won't be together?"

An excellent question. He couldn't agree more, but he tried to hide his own emotion. He had to be strong for her. "Rapunzel," he said. "I need you to do something for me before I go."

"What's that, Eugene?" she managed to say.

"I need you to promise me that you'll go on," he said. "That you'll find someone to help you rule, and you'll live your life to the fullest."

"But Eugene….," she protested.

"Promise me, Rapunzel." He couldn't miss her grief, but didn't she know that every word he said hurt him as much?

"I promise," she sobbed. Her fingers reached out and clung to his shirt. "Eugene," she said intensely, but also very quietly, her eyes boring into his. "You can make me promise that I'll go on, but you can't make me stop loving you. I'll love you 'til the day I die, and you can't do anything to stop me!"

Her spirited words hit their mark, and he drew her near again. "I'll love you forever too," he said, his lips inches from her ear.

"Rider!" he heard someone bellow. "Come on!"

He forced himself away from her. "Rapunzel….."

She nodded her head. "I-I know…you have to go." She reached up and pulled him toward her again. Then she kissed him, one last kiss. He found himself kissing her back, like a desperate man who was dying of dehydration in the desert. He might have kissed her forever, but soon he heard his name being yelled again. He forced himself away from her after giving her one last quick kiss. "Goodbye…goodbye, Rapunzel," he said.

A fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks. She said one word, and it was the hardest one she had ever said. "Bye," she forced out. He looked at her for a long moment, as if he was memorizing her face. "Don't ever forget me," he whispered. Shewatched as he walked away from her and he talked quietly with the guard called Luke for a few moments. Then he turned away and walked onto the boat without another felt her heart tear in two, and one piece felt like it was going on the ship with him. The ship began to sail away and she watched as it grew smaller and smaller, tears streaming down her face. Finally she couldn't see it anymore.

She turned to leave for her room, and she saw her mother extend her arms toward her, but she rushed past her. She ran as fast as she could to her room, crawled into her bed, and just cried. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so utterly miserable. Or empty. She decided that the best word to describe her feelings was…completely empty. Like someone had shoveled out her insides with a scooper and then ripped them up.

She frowned to herself. That wasn't pretty at all. She decided she liked it though. Her grief wasn't pretty and neither was this horrible, horrible situation. And she'd be lying to everyone and herself if she described it any other way.

Feeling empty and broken-hearted, she cried herself to sleep.

XxXxXxXx

Two hours later, she woke up to a knock on the door. She thought it'd be her mother, but it was Catherine, her maid. "Princess?" she said. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," she mumbled. Why not? It's not like she could feel any worse than she did already. She hadn't known that sorrow could make you physically sick but it did. She felt positvely ill with a numb grief.

Catherine came in with food on a tray. "I have some lunch for you, Princess," she said. "Would you like to eat it?"

She shrugged. She didn't think she could, not to mention the fact that the thought of eating anything made her want to vomit. She was about to say no, when Catherine set the tray in front of her. "Good," she said. "Because you need to eat."

Rapunzel knew that Catherine was right, but nothing sounded remotely good to her. Not even hazelnut soup. However, she tried anyway and managed to eat a few bites, even though it all tasted like sawdust.

Catherine noticed. "How are you feeling, Princess?" she asked. "Truly?"

At Catherine's kind sympathy, Rapunzel felt tears trickle down her cheeks again. "Horrible."

At the sight of the Princess crying, Catherine didn't even think. She just sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. At that moment, Rapunzel wasn't a princess. She was a girl who had just lost the man she loved. "I miss him already!" she heard her sob. "He's everything to me!"

Catherine sighed and stroked her back. "I'm so sorry…"

Rapunzel began to sob again. "I can't believe he's…" she hiccupped. "I can't believe he's gone."

Catherine didn't know what to do. There was nothing she could think of to say that would make Rapunzel feel better. So instead, she kept hugging the Princess, hoping that some way, somehow, her presence would help her.

XxXxXxXx

Rapunzel stayed in her room the entire day. She didn't want to see anyone, and have to pretend that she was okay. She wasn't okay and she wasn't entirely sure she would be ever again. Yet hiding in her room didn't keep her mother from stopping by later that evening. She barely responded when Mama called her name, and huddled under the covers, her face to the wall.

"Rapunzel," Mama said. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. Is there anything I can do for you?"

The one thing she wanted most in the world Mama couldn't do for her. She shook her head. Mama couldn't _un_-banish Eugene for her, even if she wanted to.

She heard Mama sigh. "I wish I could bring him back," she said softly. "I know how much you love him."

Her eyes filled with tears. Again. Would she ever stop crying today? She felt the mattress sink next to her and she guessed Mama had sat down next to her. Then she heard a random yowl. It was almost enough to make her look over at Mama, but she pulled the blanket toward her chin again instead and continued to stare at the wall.

"I have something for you," Mama said. "I know this won't take away your loneliness, but I hope it might….help you a little."

Rapunzel had no idea what Mama was talking about. What on earth could possibly even take the edge off? Suddenly, she felt something furry and warm nudge her arm. She turned over and finally saw the source. A little grey kitten with big blue eyes looked back at her and she felt the pain of her aching heart ease a tiny bit. She didn't miss Eugene any less, but she loved all animals and this kitten was so cute. Her hand reached out and she stroked the kitty's fur. It immediately started purring happily. "You brought me a cat?"

Mama smiled sadly. "Yes. Papa and I thought you might like her to hug when you feel particularly sad."

Mama's thoughtfulness touched her heart and she reached out and embraced her. "Thank you, Mama. I already love her."

"You're very welcome, sweetie," Mama said. "And don't feel like you have to face everyone right away. Take as much time as you need."

"Thanks," she whispered. Soon Mama left, and she was left alone by herself once again. Silent tears fell down her cheeks, and she held her new kitty close to her, in hopes that somehow, her pain could be eased.

XxXxXxXx

On the boat bound for the remote island of Analisa, Eugene stared out at the sea. He couldn't believe that he'd only just left Rapunzel. He missed her so much already and he found it difficult to fathom that he'd never see her again. She…she was practically his life, and what would the days be like without her? He didn't know much about Analisa, but he figured that it'd be full of cons like him. It was not exactly a place where you'd find too many friends and he knew he'd be all alone once again.

He thought back to the last thing Rapunzel had told him- that she'd never forget him or stop loving him. He liked the thought of it, but in the most realistic part of him, he wasn't sure that she would. It seemed all too plausible that she'd find someone else, someone who was noble and could help her rule. However, even the thought of her with anyone else but him was enough to make his chest ache. But at least he knew someone would be looking out for her. Luke agreed to make sure she was okay, since he wasn't there to do it himself anymore.

Abruptly, his eyes began to sting and his vision blurred. Yet he wasn't alarmed. He knew what was happening.

Flynn Rider _never _cried.

But Eugene Fitzherbert had no qualms about shedding a few tears over the girl he loved and lost all too soon.

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, I broke them up. :( But it will all be okay, I promise. Seriously. It will.<p>

I got a tumblr! Its , and on there, as soon as i finish it, will be an "author commentary" on this chapter.

Thank you VERY much for reading.

FL 6


	10. Heartache

**AN: **Warning- this is a decidedly NOT happy chapter. Proceed at your own discretion.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10-Heartache<strong>

The following days for Rapunzel passed slowly. Her days were spent holed up in her room, sobbing with her new kitty, Lady Susan, and painting out her feelings. Her nights were spent much the same way because she had such a hard time sleeping. After the third night of tossing and turning, she decided to do something different. She couldn't seem to drift off despite all her efforts (and despite the fact that her whole body ached), and more than anything she wanted Eugene to hold her until she fell asleep. Like he had the night before he left.

But Eugene was gone. He was gone forever, and she wouldn't have his arms around her again.

She choked back a sob, and she slid her feet onto the floor. She couldn't have Eugene, but she could be somewhere he used to be. She tiptoed out of the room and silently walked down the hallway to his old room. She knew he wasn't going to be there of course, but maybe it'd make her feel better. When she reached the room, she quietly opened the door. Everything was exactly the same as she'd remembered it, but there was nothing there anymore that was his. He'd taken it all. The bed was still there though, and she curled up in it. She inhaled, hoping that maybe she'd feel like he was with her, maybe there'd be something of him still here. A slightest hint of soap combined with forest reached her nose, and tears stung her eyes. That's what he _always _smelled like to her. She wiped her eyes, and snuggled deeper under the covers. She felt so cold suddenly, but she wasn't sure why and her head throbbed. Could she be getting sick? She sang the incantation to herself, in hopes that it'd somehow lull her to sleep:

_Flower gleam and glow_

_Let your power shine_

_Make the clock reverse_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_Heal what has been hurt_

_Change the Fates' design_

_Save what has been lost_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_What once was mine_

XxXxXxXx

That morning, the Queen came to Rapunzel's room early that morning out of concern. She was extremely worried about her daughter. It had only been a few days since Eugene left, but she still hoped that Rapunzel was starting to feel better. But she wasn't. In fact, to her eyes, she was growing worse. Every day her eyes were more and more vacant, yet that wasn't what concerned her the most. It was her paleness and tiredness. It wouldn't surprise her much if Rapunzel had made herself sick with grief. Last night at dinner, she actually appeared ill and she wanted make sure she was okay.

However, she didn't find Rapunzel there. Her bed was a mess, with sheets tangled up together as if its occupant had been tormented, but there was no Rapunzel. For a moment, panic filled her but she tried to think calmly and rationally. Where would she go if she were Rapunzel?

Soon she had an idea, and she rushed down the hall to Eugene's old room, hoping that Rapunzel would be there.

She was. Rapunzel had snuggled herself under the covers, clinging a pillow to her chest, almost as if she were holding on to Eugene.

Her heart ached for her daughter, and she brushed back a lock of her daughter's hair, wishing she could soothe away the pain as easily. But as she touched her face, she frowned. Rapunzel felt hot to her. She placed her hand on Rapunzel's forehead, and her frown deepened. She was burning up! She didn't want to leave her, but she rushed out of the room, calling for the doctor and her husband.

Rapunzel was sick!

XxXxXxX

Soon Doctor Moore came to the room, along with the King. The Queen watched nervously with her husband as he examined her. Every minute passed agonizingly slow to her and it seemed she waited an eternity before the Doctor looked up at her. "Well," he said gravely. "She's obviously ill, your Majesty. I expect she'll be in bed for a few days more at least."

"Should we take her back to her own room?" the King asked.

He shook his head. "I don't recommend it." He sighed deeply. "I'll admit to you that she's a pretty sick girl. I'm not sure what she has."

"I do," said the Queen. "She has heartache."

A half-smile appeared on Dr. Moore's face. "I'm afraid that's beyond my expertise," he said. "But that is helpful to know." He began to pack up some of her instruments. "What happened?"

The Queen exchanged looks with the King. "The Council banished the man she loves." The King nodded affirmatively.

A knowing expression crossed his face. "Well, in that case," he said. "This might be self-inflicted, in a way. She might be so emotionally devastated that she's made herself physically ill."

"So you think she'll be well soon?" she asked.

He frowned thoughtfully. "I couldn't say. She might, but it's also probable that it could take a while. In any case, I'll be sure to look after her often."

"Thank you, Dr. Moore," she said gratefully.

He smiled and left.

Now, although Dr. Moore didn't seem particularly worried, the Queen sat by Rapunzel's side all throughout her sickness. She couldn't bear to leave her, especially when she slipped into a feverish slumber. So she was there when Rapunzel stirred and muttered something in her sleep. She moved closer to her. "What is it, baby?"

"Eugene….," she murmured. "Eugene…"

Her heart sank. How could she tell her that he was gone? She was debating what to say when Rapunzel spoke up again.

"Don't go, Eugene," she whimpered. "Please…"

Tears filled her eyes, and she wished more than anything that she could bring him back.

If only to make her beloved daughter well once more.

XxXxXxXx

Eventually, Rapunzel woke up out of her feverish state. But when anyone asked her later what happened in the days after that, Rapunzel would always say she didn't know or she didn't remember because nothing was clear about those days. All she could recall was a semi-conscious blur of illness, fever, and pain. A pain that was everywhere, in her head, in her body, but most of all in her heart. Although she was unaware of many events during those days, she fully remembered Eugene.

Mama told her later that in her delirium, she had called out his name in her sleep, and kept crying for him. Mama said that it broke her heart to tell her that Eugene wasn't there anymore.

She didn't remember any of it. Yet it didn't surprise her that even in a subconscious state that she'd say his name. He was what was in her heart, and that would come out whether she was ill or not. And apparently, she truly had been. The doctor had been initially unconcerned, but he began to worry about her when she didn't wake up right away and had tried everything he knew to do to help her. He'd been almost on the verge of calling for another doctor when she'd finally woken up. Mama had been there, and she had seen the tears Mama had shed when she looked at her and asked her what happened.

Yet just because she woke up didn't mean she was well. Nothing could be further from the truth. She had to spend a few more days in bed, and the doctor warned her that it could be a few weeks before she would feel entirely well again. That was an understatement. Now her body ached and hurt just as much as her heart did. Today marked the seventh day since her awakening, and she'd only just felt up to sitting outside her room, and then only with a blanket to keep her warm. One of the side effects of being so ill was that she always felt cold, even in the beginning of July.

Now she huddled herself further into the blanket, cuddling Lady Susan in her arms, but no matter what she did, she couldn't seem to grow warm again. She tried to think of a time that she had felt this bad, but she was unable to come up with anything. Before if she felt even the slightest bit sick, she'd sing and use her hair. Just like magic, she'd feel better in no time at all. Yet that was impossible now that Eugene had cut her hair.

Eugene…..Tears stung her eyes. Would everything always come back to him? She buried her face in her kitty's fur, fighting back the tears.

"Rapunzel?"

She glanced up, only to see her mother looking at her. "Yes, Mama?"

Mama came over to her and touched her shoulder gently. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" she asked.

She blinked back her tears. "I still don't feel so good." Actually, she couldn't remember the last time she _had _felt good.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "There's someone here to see you."

She sniffled. Ugh. She was so tired of crying, yet she couldn't seem to stop. "Who?"

Much to her surprise, it was Luke, one of the castle guards. She wasn't sure she particularly wanted to see any of them (nearly all of them hated Eugene and had been thrilled when he left) but she remembered Luke's kindness to her and she greeted him politely after Mama left. "Hello, Luke."

He smiled kindly and handed her a small bouquet of daises. "Hello, Princess," he said. "So sorry to hear that you're ill."

She took the flowers, but she felt completely surprised that he'd brought her them. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. He noticed her confused expression and smiled. "I've got sisters, Princess. I know what girls like." He sat down next to her. "So how are you doing now that Eugene's gone?"

She looked down at her kitty, trying to hide her tears. "Not the best," she admitted. Why even bother lying?

"I'm so sorry," he said.

She was silent. Everyone had told her they were sorry, but no one had done anything to change the circumstances or show that they truly understood how she felt.

Luke eventually cleared his throat and broke the quiet. "You know, Eugene loves you so much." She didn't say anything to that either, but she noticed how Luke used the present tense. _He _loves _you….._ It was then that she decided that feelings of love didn't go away just because the people do. Her love for Eugene hadn't diminished any now that he was gone. "He made me promise to look after you for him."

Eugene had asked someone to look after her? His sweetness touched the deepest part of her heart and a lump settled in her throat.

"So, Princess," he continued. "I know I'm not Eugene, and I know I won't ever be. But please. Tell me how you really are."

She felt the sincerity of his words and she decided to answer his question honestly. "I feel horrible!" A tear slipped down her cheek. "I miss him so much I hurt!" Her voice cracked and she found herself crying again. Almost immediately, she felt Luke's arm around her shoulders. She mused that it wasn't at all like when Eugene held her (this was more brotherly), but there was something comforting about it just the same.

For the first time in a long while, she wasn't crying alone.

XxXxXxXx

Even after she grew well again, the next few months were sheer agony for Rapunzel. Every day she would wake up in the morning and realize anew that Eugene was gone and he wasn't coming back. And her heart would break again into a million tiny parts that, no matter what she did or how hard she tried, she couldn't piece back together.

She didn't consider herself to be a weak person or anything, but every single day without him was a challenge like…..well, climbing up a tower with no rope. Meals were hard, lessons were hard, balls and other royal parties were harder still. Two things were the hardest of all, though: nights and her free time. Some nights she would fall asleep and dream about Eugene- dreams where they were together still….even dreams where they were married. Dreams so real that when she woke up, she ended up crying because she realized anew that they would never come true. But most nights she couldn't sleep and lay awake instead, wishing that things were different, wishing that she had never figured out that she was the princess. That way, they could have run off like he had asked her to. That way, they could be together.

Her free time was difficult too, because she didn't have anybody who could be with her. Catherine was sweet and understanding, but she worked. Luke was the same, but he worked even more than Catherine did. She loved her mother, but she was busy with being the queen. On the afternoons when she didn't have any lessons, she would paint or read or do something- anything- to occupy her time. But nothing she did made her miss him any less because she was fully aware of how much fun they could have had. Lady Susan was a wonderful kitty, but there was only so much a cat could do to ease her feelings.

So when she felt particularly lonely and sad, she went to his old room like she did that night when she couldn't sleep. And she would always just sit there and cry. For hours. Sometimes she would go to Maximus's stall, bury her head in his mane, and do the same (although she did have her own horse, her pretty and frisky Cassandra, but she hadn't known Eugene. And Maximus had- had saved him from the gallows). In his horsey way, he nuzzled her hair and tried to make her feel better because he had decided that, even though Flynn had been a real knot in his mane, Eugene used to make Rapunzel happy. And he loved Rapunzel, just like most other animals and all the other horses did. So he didn't want to see her sad. But his nuzzling only made Rapunzel conscious of her short hair and just who had cut it and why. And then she would cry all over again. Sometimes, it felt to her that she was crying or on the verge of it all the time. Most of the time she managed to keep herself from sobbing but there were occasions that she had to fight hard to stay in control.

Her mother, Guinevere, wasn't oblivious to her daughter's grief. She noticed that at meals Rapunzel barely ate anything and her eyes always seemed on the verge of tears. She also noticed that she was shrinking. Now, she had always been slender, but now she was downright skinny, even after her illness was over. Guinevere always tried to encourage her to eat more, but it was almost as if she couldn't. She would bring something up to her lips, bore a hole in it, then set it down. She also observed that there were afternoons when she saw Rapunzel out in the gardens just staring at nothing. She knew that Rapunzel went to Eugene's old room and sobbed. Her mother's heart ached for her daughter, and wished that there was some way she could fix it for her. Her daughter was pining away before her very eyes.

But she didn't know what else to do. Already she was secretly trying to get Eugene's sentence lessened to five years instead of for life. But she was up against a brick wall in Lord Howard. He didn't make any effort to hide his complete disdain for Eugene, and he often told her when she argued in Eugene's favor that, if it had only been up to him,_ Flynn_ would have been strung up by a noose. The only thing she could think to that was to thank God it wasn't just up to him, but to her husband and the rest of the Council. Rapunzel was devastated simply by Eugene leaving. She could only imagine her grief if he had been executed. She supposed that she should be thankful that he hadn't been. But her mother's heart told her that she could do more to help free Eugene.

No matter how hard it was or how long it took.

XxXxXxXx

Meanwhile, Rapunzel herself did not have any idea of her mother's repeated attempts to bring Eugene back. For all she knew, he was gone forever- and so she grieved. She missed him so much that she physically hurt whenever she thought of him, which was all the time. Before this, she hadn't known that grief could make you sick, but it did. Sometimes she felt emotionally sick enough that she managed to wiggle out of her lessons. However, that wasn't particularly often.

One day, around two months to the day of when he left, she felt the familiar tightness in her chest that she always felt when she missed him the most. She wanted to cry the entire day and her teachers chided her constantly about her absentmindedness. After they did, she felt like crying even more, but she managed to restrain herself and stay in control.

It was only after them all that she went to his room (where she went when she always felt the worst) and let herself sob. She had heard the phrase 'time heals all wounds' but she was never able to believe it. How could time heal everything if she felt just as bad as she did the day he left?

Most of the time she felt like he had taken one part of her heart with him, a part that she'd never get back, and the other half was broken. She wondered if he felt the same devastation that she lived with every day. She missed him so much. She missed his smile, his laugh...she missed the way he looked at her. She missed the way he kissed her.

She wondered if that was a bad thing to miss. She decided she didn't care if it was. The fact was that he kissed _very _well, and she always felt special. Tears pricked her eyes, much like they usually did, and she finally let herself cry.

But she tried to make herself stop, and in her efforts her foot pushed away the loose stone. When she did, she saw a corner of white envelope. Curious, she pulled it out, and was surprised to find her name on it:_ Rapunzel._ She turned it over, and glanced at again. It looked like Eugene's handwriting, so she opened it up carefully.

Okay, it was more like she ripped it open. It was a single sheet of paper, but it was very wrinkled, crumpled….many things were crossed out, and some words seemed smudged to her. But her name was on the top, and she curled up and read it:

_June 20_

_My dear Rapunzel,_

At that simple, sweet greeting she almost started to cry. But she forced herself to be strong and continued to read.

_If you're reading this, I must be gone._

Tears pricked her eyes_. Oh, Eugene…_

_Okay, not gone in the sense that I'm dead, because I'm not, but I might as well be. It feels like I am, because I won't be with you… …_

A bunch of things were crossed out, and she squinted to try and read it.

_Anyway, I'm not saying this well, but I hate that I've been banished. I hate that I have to leave you. You're my life, Rapunzel._

His life….despite her efforts, she started to cry-two tiny tears.

_You saved my life. You showed me that Eugene was somebody worthwhile, and because of that, I tried to live up to it. So I stopped being Flynn and went back to Eugene. And Eugene loved every minute he spent with you, and wanted to be with you forever._

_Flynn cut in though, and my past caught up with me. And now I have to pay. I'm banished. I can't come back, or I really will be dead. I know you hate this, and you are just as devastated as I am that we can't be together._

_But you'll go on, and be the best queen Corona has ever seen. And you'll find someone else who will help you rule-but it won't be me._

_And to be honest….._

Some more things were crossed out and smudged. She tried to read around it, but his handwriting grew so small here that she could barely make any of it out.

_…the truth is, Rapunzel, is that I'm not good enough for you anyway. You should have the most royal prince, who can give you the life you deserve…_

Tears slid down her cheeks. "That's not true, Eugene," she whispered. "You are." The words blurred, and seemed even smaller to her.

_…..You deserve somebody who doesn't have a shady past like I do, somebody who is….I don't know. Noble, or something. Brilliant and educated. You'll find out that I'm right by and by when you fall for someone else. There's somebody else out there, Rapunzel. You'll want someone else._

"No, I won't!" she said fiercely, almost as if he was in the room with her. "I just want you! And I _won't_ fall for someone else!" She couldn't believe he had used the word when! The next lines though completely deflated her though.

_I know this is making you angry, so I'll stop. I'm going to make you promise that you will, though, the last time I see you._

_One more thing…..I love you. I'll love you forever. Just because I want you to move on doesn't mean I want you to….forget me completely. I just don't want you to spend the rest of your life…I don't know, pining over me. I'm not worth it, Rapunzel._

_Please live your life to the fullest. That's what I want for you._

_Love,_

_Eugene_

_P.S. Goodbye, my love._

At the last words she buried her head in her hands and sobbed out her grief. She ached as much as if he had left the day before.

Would she ever stop hurting?

* * *

><p>AN: :( Poor Rapunzel.<p>

The funny thing about the second half of this chapter is that I wrote it like...a million years ago and it feels weird to finally post it. And I know there was a profound lack of Eugene in this chapter, but don't worry. He'll take center stage in the next one.

Shoutout to sunnyprincessbird for being awesome, and leaving me the nicest reviews! they make me smile :)

Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews!


	11. Decisions

**Chapter 11-Decisions**

After three days at sea, Eugene made a decision: he hated boats. He hated the constant rocking, and the waves tossing and turning him. He wouldn't go so far as to say that he was sea-sick (Flynn Rider would _never_ get sea-sick) but his stomach wasn't completely settled either. An upset stomach combined with his aching heart did not make a pleasant voyage. He felt positively dreadful, and it didn't help that all of the other people on the ship didn't acknowledge his existence. They treated him as if he weren't even there.

There was nothing more awful than being completely ignored, he decided. Except being bullied, and so far there hadn't been too much of that, but he wasn't holding his breath. Irwin, one of the guards, looked like he'd love to torment him, though he hadn't as of late. Yet it was probably only a matter of time.

Since no one would speak with him, he spent most of his time thinking about Rapunzel. She was never more than a breath away from his heart and mind. One thing that he kept remembering was her birthday when they were dancing in the square and every single time they grew close to each other, they'd miss each other's hands by inches. That's how he felt: like he was so close to having her, but she was always just outside of his grasp. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hold on to her. Somebody was always dragging her away from him. It was, he mused, just that the Council had managed to ultimately succeed in separating them.

Already, he missed her so much. He missed the way her eyes lit up when she experienced something new. He missed the way everything was exciting and magical for her and the way she saw good in everything and everyone. He missed her smile, her laugh…he missed the way she looked at him. He missed kissing her.

Most of all, he missed the Rapunzel-ness of her. He missed the special way she made him feel when he was with her- like he was worth something, like he was special simply because he was Eugene. Now that she was gone, he didn't even know who Eugene was anymore. And the deepest part of his heart-that had been completely knit to hers- felt ripped apart and a piece of it was missing. He doubted that he'd ever get it back, because Rapunzel would forever have it. Actually, Rapunzel held his entire heart in her tiny hands. Thinking of her hands made him reminded him of her lovely face, her cute freckles, her stunning eyes….

"Rider!"

His head jerked up and he quickly snapped out of his reverie. Irwin, leered up at him. "My name is Eugene," he said mildly, though part of him wondered why he was mentioning that fact. Nobody on this ship would even care about Eugene Fitzherbert, not like Rapunzel had.

His nasty expression didn't change. "So, Rider," he said. "Would you like some lunch? Or would you rather sit here and brood about the Princess?"

Actually he would, considering that "lunch" would probably be more revolting hard tack and other sorts of wood that passed for food in the sailors' minds. "It's _Eugene_. And now that you mention it, thinking about Rapunzel is a lot more pleasant than watching you stuff your ugly face."

Irwin's eyes bugged out of his head at the insult, and his face turned red. Wow. He'd forgotten how satisfying insulting guards was. He was about to stand and go to his own private corner when Irwin stopped him and pulled him up by his collar, his face so close he could smell his breath. He wrinkled his nose. Disgusting. "You think you're so clever, huh, Rider?" he sneered. "Let's see how well you'd fight when it's a battle of fists."

Before Eugene could do anything, Irwin's fist had connected with both his stomach and his face. He put up his own arms to block Irwin's next attempts, and he succeeded. Irwin's face changed to a delicious shade of purple when he realized that he wouldn't get in any more hits. "This isn't over, Rider," he growled. "The princess might have been blinded by your act, but the rest of us aren't. You're nothing. You were born nothing and you'll die as nothing, and only the rodents will mourn you."

"Well, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Irwin?" he shot back. "Considering you're a rat yourself. Why don't you make a home with them and share what you have in common?"

Because he was so invested in crafting the perfect retort, Eugene didn't see the blow coming until it had rammed into the side of his head.

And everything went black.

XxXxXxXx

When Eugene finally regained consciousness, his head hurt and his entire body ached. He tried to sit up and let out a sigh when everything spun dizzily around him. He'd forgotten that most guards couldn't take a joke or a tease, and they often took out their frustration in their fists. _Stupid, stupid, _he thought to himself. Maybe there had been some reasons to give up Flynning that had nothing whatsoever to do with Rapunzel. Like not getting beat up for one. But guards were such fun to torment. They were so snobbish that they practically screamed "annoy me." He'd never met a guard who wasn't. That is, except Luke. Luke was nice, and probably could take a joke. He wished he was here. But Luke was back in Corona, with Rapunzel, looking after her. He guessed he didn't really wish Luke was here. Somebody needed to see that Rapunzel was okay. She was likely devastated that he was gone, and for once he wasn't being cocky. She loved him and she'd miss him. Yet he hoped she wasn't….too miserable without him, though he had a feeling she was. So he wished he was back in Corona with both Luke and Rapunzel.

That wasn't exactly anything new. He'd been wishing that ever since he'd set foot on this stupid boat with stupid guards who had stupid fists and equally stupid sailors who were so stupid that they didn't even know what food was anymore.

There were one too many uses of stupid in that sentence._ Great_, he thought, flopping back down to the deck. Apparently he couldn't even come up with a good insult anymore. Not only had he lost his heart since he left Rapunzel, but he'd also lost his mind. Or maybe all of his good jokes had been knocked right out of him by Irwin's fist. That was not a comforting thought. He started to mourn his own clever wit, along with Rapunzel, when he heard something. He sat up, despite the fact that he thought he saw five barrels in front of him instead of four. "Hello?"

"Eugene?"

_Eugene?_ Somebody on this despicable boat was actually calling him by his name? He almost didn't recognize it. "Uh…yes?"

Suddenly an wrinkled, elderly man walked out of the shadows. "Eugene, how are you? I saw Irwin make a punching bag out of you."

Somebody saw that who actually cared? Who was this person? "Well, apart from my battered body and heart, I suppose I could be considered okay."

The man smiled. "I'm so sorry about that," he said. "I'm Captain Sanders."

He blinked, and pulled at his ears, sure he was hearing things. "But I already meet the captain, and he was a grump just like everyone else on this blasted boat!"

"Ship," corrected the Captain. "She's a ship, not a boat. And you're right, I'm not the captain. But I used to be one, and I like to sail. So when I'm able, I take a few voyages here and there, just to remind me of the old days."

"I see," Eugene said. Even though he didn't. Who in their right mind would say that they _liked _to sail? But the Captain didn't seem to mind. Instead, he sat down next to him and asked him about himself and why he was on the boat.

He told him everything. Why not? It's not like there was anybody else to talk to. Yet Captain Sanders was a good listener. He was also an exceptionally nice man, and made the rest of the two week journey bearable for Eugene. After many talks with him, they finally reached Analisa. It wasn't a moment too soon for his liking, and he swore that as long as he lived, he'd never set foot on another boat ever again.

XxXxXxXx

Once Eugene reached Synthia, the "capital" of Analisa, it didn't take him long to realize that a metropolis it was not. Most of the houses were tiny ones constructed of wood, and he saw few people on the street. He wandered around for a bit, just wondering what to do. It wasn't as if the guards had given him any instructions besides unceremoniously dumping him here, warning him to never ever come back, while they remained on the boat before returning to Corona. Lucky bastards.

He wished he could return to Corona too. He was so lonely here without Rapunzel. His chest felt so tight that he couldn't breathe. His heart ached, and the gathering storm-clouds in the sky reflected the torment in his soul. After enduring the grief for a few hours, he decided that he couldn't stand this anymore. He _had _to act. He had numb the pain. And so it was that he did something he had promised himself (since he met Rapunzel) that he wouldn't do again. He found the town pub (because _every _town had one!) just before the rain hit and ordered drink after drink, in the process growing terribly drunk. So drunk, in fact, that when he finally left he managed to slip on the wet roads and smacked his head on the ground.

And he knew nothing more.

XxXxXxXxX

Throughout her day, Lena Miller felt like something interesting was going to happen. She didn't know what, of course, but she had an inkling that something new might happen. Maybe that wasn't particularly smart of her, but Synthia was so boring that she would hold on to anything. Even her own delusions. So, when her younger brother, Peter, walked in with his friend, Mark, carrying some man in, she immediately pounced on them. "Who's this?" she asked. She looked over their shoulders at the stranger.

The very _handsome _stranger. "Don't know," grunted Peter. "But we saw him unconscious in front of the Bear and Bow, probably smacked his head. We thought you might like playing nursemaid."

Of course she'd like to play nursemaid, especially to some dark, mysterious stranger. "I think I could manage that," she said calmly, winding a brown curl around her finger. Despite her placid exterior, her heart pounded in excitement. Finally, something out of the ordinary. Under her direction, Mark and Peter took the stranger upstairs to the spare bedroom and she fumbled around, trying to figure out how to help him. Peter watched her in amusement as she muttered about illnesses to herself.

"Lena," he said with that slightly superior tone that she hated. She was older than him after all! "We found him outside the _Bear and_ _Bow_."

"And your point?" she asked. Maybe he had a simple cold...

"Meaning he was outside the _Bear and Bow," _he said. "So he probably is just ridiculously drunk."

Her face flushed hot with embarrassment, and she sat down. "Oh. Well, I guess that's easy to treat."

Peter smirked at her. "Of course. Have fun with that."

Lena rolled her eyes as Peter left. Brothers! She focused on her Mystery Man, which she decided to call Frederick. Frederick was a nice name and she would call him that until he woke up and told her what it really was.

XxXxXxXx

Sometime later, and Eugene had no idea how long it was, he woke up with a throbbing head. He expected to still be on that cold pavement, but he wasn't. He lay in some kind of soft bed, though he had no idea how he'd gotten there. He felt something cold on his forehead, but it wasn't doing anything to ease the horrible throbbing in his head. He made himself open his eyes, and saw a pretty brunette sitting across from him. Was he dreaming or hallucinating?

The girl was smiling. "Oh, good. You're awake."

He blinked, looking more closely at her face and her eyes- her green eyes. There was one person he knew that had green eyes like that…."Rapunzel?" He tried to push himself up.

The girl shook her head. "No," she said gently. "Lena. But don't worry; you hit your head really hard."

So that it explained the headache. With a groan, he flopped back onto the pillow. "How did everything get so messed up?" he muttered to himself.

"That can happen sometimes when you drink too much," Lena said dryly. Then she flushed. "I guess that wasn't very helpful." She looked down and sighed. "Sorry, I have a tendency to say whatever I'm thinking."

If his head felt less like somebody…..well, like somebody had taken a frying pan to it, he might have said something flippant to her. But as it was, it was hard enough to think, much less talk. Ugh. He had forgotten how horrible hangovers were.

"Anyway," she continued. "What's your name? I've been calling you Frederick." He frowned. "But obviously," she continued with a small laugh. "That's not it."

"No," he said. Frederick! Honestly. What a dorky name. "It's Eugene." Not that Eugene was much better, really….

"Well," she said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Eugene. I just wish we'd met under more….auspicious circumstances."

More auspicious than him falling down drunk, he gathered. Ha. "Mutual, I'm sure," he mumbled.

"So, do you mind telling me what brings you to our fair town?" she asked. "Not that I don't love Synthia of course, but it's not the most popular city, if you know what I mean."

In spite of himself, he let out a laugh. From what he could guessed, most of the people were likely criminal has-beens and nobody wanted to be around them. "Well, if you really want to know, I'm a banished ex-thief."

She nodded. "Yeah, I figured."

"You figured?" he asked incredulous. "What, do I have a wanted posted tattooed to my forehead, or something?"

Now she laughed. "No, of course not," she said. "But A) most new people are cons and B) you don't look anything like a murderer, and C) you look like you'd try to charm anybody into doing anything, even give you their money. So I guess you were more the watch-me-as-I-sneakily-steal -your-stuff type than I'm-going-to-stick-a-knife-in your-back type."

This girl was ridiculous, and her smart remarks were rather annoying combined with his throbbing head. "You think you're pretty clever, don't you?"

Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "No, I don't think that I'm pretty clever," she answered. She grinned. "I know it."

Suddenly a man's voice barked from downstairs. "Lena!"

"Who's that?" he asked.

She made a face. "It's my brother, Peter," she said. "But trust me, he doesn't always sound like that." She walked over to the door. "I'll be right down!" she hollered.

"Hurry up!" he yelled. "Andromeda's sick!"

Eugene watched as the color drained out of Lena's face. "Please, excuse me, I need to go help," she said in a tone altogether different than her previously blithe one.

"Of course," he said. "But who's Andromeda?"

"One of our mares," she said quickly. "We have a horse farm." She walked close and said softly. "Now, you stay put, all right? You took a nasty blow to your head."

"Uh, okay." What else did he have to do anyway?

She smiled tightly. "Good," she said, then quietly left the room.

After she left, Eugene turned and buried his head in the pillow, berating himself. How could he have been so stupid as to get drunk? He should have known better. He _did _know better.

From now on, he resolved, that even if he couldn't be with Rapunzel, he would act as if he was. He wouldn't regress.

And that was a promise.

XxXxXxXx

Though Eugene wasn't exactly sick, he stayed in bed for a few days just thinking. Well, that probably wasn't true. In reality, it was more like he sat in bed for a few days moping and brooding over Rapunzel and trying to figure out what he would do with his life now that he lost her. He already made up his mind that he wouldn't go back to Flynning. There was no point, and he didn't think he even liked who Flynn was. So he would be himself, whoever that was, and he would stay here in Synthia….doing something. If only he could figure out what that was.

Lena and Peter helped him with that one. Shortly after he finally dragged himself out of bed, Lena smiled at him and said that, if he wanted, he could stay here in the cottage behind their house for free. In return, he'd help them with their horses.

He accepted the job. What else could he do? It's not like there were a million of other possibilities, and he needed a place to stay. There were much worse places to live than a tiny cottage on a horse farm. Besides, beggars couldn't exactly be choosers, now could they?

When he finally started working, he didn't think that he would like his job at all. He didn't even like horses that much, and he wasn't an animal lover by any means. Yet after spending a few days with them, he suddenly knew why Rapunzel liked animals as much as he did-they were a captive audience. During his long hours of grooming and mucking, he found himself saying things to them, at first just to end the quiet. But he soon found that he could talk, mumble, complain, and grumble as much as he wanted about the horribleness of leaving Rapunzel, and they always had to listen. There was something….very nice about that.

Maybe it was also that Peter and Lena's horses weren't psycho like he'd originally thought Max was, and didn't seem to have any desire to chase him all over kingdom come. That was always a major plus in his opinion. There was one particular horse that he liked too, Penelope, because she seemed to listen to him (like the other horses), but she seemed to care too (unlike the other horses). She would always look at him sympathetically with her big eyes and made him feel….well, not happy, but like someone cared. Even if it was only a horse.

He knew that the horses weren't the only ones who cared. Lena never outright asked him about his past, but sometimes he caught her looking at him with a sad expression, almost as if she knew that he was hurting. But he didn't want to talk about it with her. He just…didn't. She looked too much like Rapunzel, and talking about it with someone who could be her sister felt like pulling a scab off a wound that hadn't healed.

He couldn't do it. So, as the months went by, he kept helping Lena and Peter, and spending long evenings by himself, trying to find a way to start again. Deep inside, he hoped that one day he'd find a reason to be happy again. He hoped that Rapunzel would too.

XxXxXxXx

Back in Corona, Rapunzel had found her own way to cope with losing Eugene. She eventually stopped crying. She stopped talking about him. She stopped moping in her room. And she stopped feeling entirely. That was the only way she could go on. Instead of grieving, she poured all her energy into being the princess that everyone wanted her to be. She went to her lessons, and excelled in them. She attended all the royal parties and balls, and acted like the perfect princess and hostess. Her parents and teachers were thrilled.

She, on the other hand, was exhausted. But she kept up the charade for two months before finally crumbling. One night after a particularly long party, she was so empty and shattered that she broke her own rule and let herself feel her grief again. She usually went to her bedroom after the parties, but instead she found her feet traveling away from her own room and toward the one she always used to go to when she felt like she couldn't stand her longing for him. It was amazing to her that her parents hadn't done anything to it, considering it was a guest room. But she supposed that her mother was the one who had decided that. She opened the door and immediately went to her usual spot near the window overlooking the sea. It looked beautiful in the moonlight, but she was in no mood to enjoy it. Instead, she slid to the floor and buried her face in her knees. She fought back tears, just thinking about how much she missed Eugene. A tear slipped down her cheek, but she pushed it away in aggravation. She _had_ to stop crying for once. She could have filled the entire Coronian Sea with her tears- and then some. She was sick of crying, just like she was sick of being a princess. Since he'd left, after her grieving, she'd been the perfect example of a submissive princess. All her tutors were escatic.

She was not. She was so tired of it. She hadn't done anything that she'd wanted to do since Eugene left. She'd just politely sat through all her princess lessons, all the balls and royal functions, all the royal waving, bowing, scraping. Everything.

However, she thought suddenly, the one thing she hadn't done was go after him. He would have gone after her, wouldn't he? He had when he thought her life was in danger, so why hadn't she done the same? She answered her own question: because she believed that she didn't have that option. She'd let everyone fool her into thinking she didn't have a choice, that she _had _to let him go because of the law. Besides that, she'd let herself get trapped again, just like she had been in the tower with Gothel. She was trapped in a jail of people's expectations of a princess. Oh, it might be a gold lined prison with beautiful dresses and tiaras, but being a princess in the castle was still a prison…..and she'd thought that she had to stay here.

But what if she didn't? What if she gave up the crown?

What would she do then if she did?

With firm determination, she pushed herself up and answered her own question: What she must.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! You guys are awesome :)<br>Thank you for bearing with me through all of this sadness. It's going to get better, I swear, starting with the next one.


	12. Choice

AN: you all will both love and hate me for this one :p

Happy Independence Day to everyone!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12-Choice<strong>

Rapunzel pushed herself off the floor and walked back to her own room with resolution and the knowledge that she'd made her own choice. Finally.

And she chose….Eugene. She chose to be with him instead of living as princess. Some might think it strange that she'd give up all the glitz and glamour of being royal, but to her it was a gilded-lined cage that she couldn't bear to live in anymore. She began to pack her belongings: a few of her plainer dresses, her art things, a few books, some miscellaneous items like the flag Eugene had given her on her birthday.

It didn't take her too long to pack and before she left, she wrote a note to her parents, telling her that she was leaving because she loved them and they deserved to know. After she finished, she gathered up her bag and headed to the jail. It might sound odd, but she went there to seek out Luke, who was the only one who would actually tell her where they had sent Eugene.

And he did. He didn't even seem that surprised that she wanted to know, and he even helped her find a boat to take her to Analisa, an island across the Coronian Sea. He assisted her too by telling her to travel under an assumed name and found her a wig to wear.

As Liliana, she started her journey.

XxXxXxXx

After a few months, Eugene began to adjust to his new life in Synthia. He still missed Rapunzel with every breath though. She was everything to him- his true love, his best friend….He felt so lonely without her. There were nights that he dreamed about her, that she would show up one day at his door. She never did.

Despite his aching heart, living in Synthia was a lot better than he thought it would be. He didn't love it here, but it was tolerable. Well, most things were, that is. Peter, Lena's brother, grated on his nerves a bit simply because he could be so very annoying. For instance, he kept calling him names. Like it'd be "Hey Fitzboy!" one morning, or "Hey Fitzy!" the next- like he thought those were acceptable nicknames for Eugene Fitzherbert. Naturally, he did not share that opinion. If he was going to go by his real name then he wanted people to at least get it right. Most of the time when Peter called him that, he'd either not respond, or tell him for the thousandth time, his name was _Eugene_. It didn't matter. Peter never did call him Eugene. It was aggravating, to say the least.

But the horses weren't annoying. Lena wasn't annoying either. On the contrary, she was consistently very kind and pleasant. She would stop by his cottage every once in a while with some food, because "she figured he didn't cook too much."

She was right. He didn't, mostly because he didn't know how to make anything besides like….eggs. He could scramble a _mean _egg. But there were only so many scrambled eggs you could have before you never wanted to see one again. So he was glad that Lena cared enough to bring over some of whatever she made herself and Peter, and sometimes they'd sit and talk for a while before she went back home. He thought that she was a wonderful person, and also a good friend.

Yet there were three problems with her. First, she looked, sounded, and acted just like Rapunzel. Being with her only reminded him of Rapunzel, and she was always at the front of his mind. Second, he could tell that she was beginning to think of him as more than a friend. His radar for this kind of thing was too good, and he knew he couldn't be wrong. Often he caught her looking at him in what he could only call a romantic way and it troubled him. He didn't want her to think of him that way. He was still in love with Rapunzel! He thought that maybe he should say something to her, but that would mean bringing up Rapunzel and he didn't want to. So he said nothing,

The last problem didn't start when the other two did. This one came on gradually, once he figured out that she liked him. Flynn Rider loved it when women liked him, but Eugene didn't. Well, not as much anyway. There were worse things than having girls like you, after all, and he was human. Which brought him to the third problem with Lena (which was almost identical to the first, really): Because she looked, sounded, and acted exactly like Rapunzel, he could tell that if he wasn't careful, a spark could pop up between them and that would hurt him and her later. He was just lonely and miserable enough to do something stupid like kiss her because she was here and Rapunzel was not. She_ was_ rather pretty, and just because he loved Rapunzel didn't mean he was blind.

So, in attempt to stop anything from happening, he kept conversations with her to a minimum and he avoided her when possible. It worked for a while until one stormy evening she begged him to help look after Pandora with her. She was about to foal any day, and she was worried about her.

He said yes, mostly because he felt like he couldn't say no. Peter was off with Mark somewhere, and he wouldn't feel right leaving her by herself.

As it turned out, Pandora didn't foal that night, but he decided later that she lived up to her name and that night brought tons of trouble. It started out innocently enough. They sat and watched the horse, making random chit-chat until he decided to ask her why she ended up here.

Lena's face immediately grew sad, and she poured out a sob-story to rival his own. She told him that she had been born in Corona to a happily married couple, who owned a small farm. But her father wasn't one who loved the monarchy and eventually he was brought in by the King and Queen as a dissenter. His option was prison or banishment. He choose banishment, of course, she said, because he couldn't leave his wife with a three year old Lena and a year old Peter. So he sold the farm and they moved here to Synthia. The first few years he worked in town, but he eventually he bought the farm that she lived on now.

She paused after that, and her eyes filled with tears. Eugene knew that this was probably the saddest part and it was. Soon after that, Lena continued, her mother grew sick and died and her father shortly after that. She was only fourteen.

"But I decided that I wasn't going to give up," Lena said when she came to the end of the story. "Peter and I would run the farm ourselves, and we have- for six years."

She looked at him, and he knew he should say something….really empathetic and kind. He couldn't think of much besides the usual. "I'm so sorry," he said finally. "But it makes you feel any better I'm an orphan too. So I know how that goes." He couldn't believe he'd admitted that, but he wanted to help her.

"I'm sorry," she said, and he knew she was. "You must have been younger than I was."

"Yeah." Quite a bit younger, but he didn't really want to talk about all that.

They were both silent for a few minutes, just watching Pandora. Watching horses wasn't the most interesting thing in the world, he decided. It was probably on the same level as watching paint dry.

"You know, Eugene," Lena said, breaking the silence. "I wish you'd tell me what happened in Corona. I mean-,…." Her voice dropped in volume. "It's really obvious to me that you're tortured about something."

He finally decided to just tell her. Why not? She had told him her story, and he felt like it was only fair for him to do the same."When I was banished," he said slowly. "I left the girl I love."

Her eyes grew sad again. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "What was her name?"

He sighed. "Rapunzel," he said. "Her name was Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel….as in the princess?" She asked. He nodded miserably. "Oh, that's horrible! No wonder you're so devastated. Anyone would be in your shoes. It's just…." She closed her mouth for a second. "It's awful."

She said nothing else for a few moments and looked at him with such sympathy that, for a second, it was like being with Rapunzel. Rapunzel always seemed to know just what he was feeling, and felt it herself. He could see it in her eyes. Lena appeared to have the same expression on her own face. If he had been with Rapunzel, and she'd said those kind things, he'd have kissed her now. He met Lena's eyes, and he could see how much she cared. Her_ green_ eyes… He felt like he was could be with Rapunzel. But Rapunzel wasn't here.

And Lena was- looking at him with those pretty eyes of hers, like she could feel his pain. She really was always so compassionate..."Thank you," he said softly. A wave of loneliness washed over him, a wave so intolerable that he did something he probably wouldn't have otherwise.

He never was sure later who leaned in first after that, him or Lena. Yet before he knew it, he was kissing her and she was kissing him back.

But it took him only two seconds to realize what he'd done. He abruptly pulled away and stared at her in horror. "Oh, God. Lena…"

She met his eyes, but she seemed rather happy, like she'd be dreaming about this for days. She probably had. Blast. "What?'

"Lena….I'm sorry," he said. "I, I…shouldn't…"

Slowly the joy vanished from her face. "Right," she said softly. "Rapunzel."

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I can't do this." She looked down, but not before he saw the hurt in her eyes. He felt terrible. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen! "Lena, you're a great girl, but I-…."

She blinked several times. "I understand." She got up and walked toward the stall door, lingering there. "Tell me something, Eugene."

"Yes?"

"If there was no Rapunzel," she said hesistantly. "Do you think that….?"

He knew what she was asking. "Yes."

She smiled faintly. "Good night, Eugene," she said, shutting the door quietly behind her.

After she left he buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe what he'd done. He felt like he cheated on Rapunzel, which he hadn't because they weren't together anymore, and never would be. But there was no end to his guilt-guilt because he'd kissed someone besides Rapunzel, and guilt because Lena was a nice girl and he knew he'd hurt her.

How could he have been so stupid?

Isn't this precisely what he'd been trying to avoid?

XxXxXxXx

On the other side of the door, Lena felt like her heart was being ripped out. Before today, she hadn't known that you could feel as high as the clouds one minute and in the deeps of the earth the next. But that's exactly how she felt. When Eugene had leaned in and kissed her, she was so happy that she wanted to run around the streets of Synthia singing songs at the top of her lungs. It was like a dream come true, because she'd had feelings for him for _weeks_. How could she not? He was so very handsome, and although he always seemed so sad, he was kind to her and he'd listened to her story. And he'd finally kissed her!

But then he'd pulled away, with such a horrified expression that her happiness was immediately deflated. He'd looked at her like he couldn't believe he'd kissed her, like it was the biggest blunder of his life.

It was not, she mused, a nice feeling to think that someone regretted kissing you. He hadn't said then that it a mistake, but she knew he thought that. He was loyal to Rapunzel, back in Corona. She could understand that, she could. Rapunzel was probably an amazing person, and it made sense that he loved her. But that knowledge didn't make her own heart hurt any less.

The next morning, after sleeping hardly at all, she found a note by her door. She took it and read it, her spirits low. She knew it was from Eugene.

_Dear Lena,_

_Once again, I'm so sorry about last night. I took advantage of you, and I shouldn't have._

She let out her breath slowly. But I _wanted _you to kiss me, she thought. It would have been different if she hadn't.

_I still love Rapunzel, and so I don't have any business kissing you. I hope you can forgive me and we can still be friends._

_And Lena, I meant what I said. If circumstances were different…I think I could have loved you._

_-Eugene_

If circumstances were different…. The words repeated themselves over and over in her mind. But they weren't different. They wouldn't ever be. He'd always be in love with this Rapunzel girl, and she'd be all alone in her feelings.

With that gloomy thought, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed. She was so immersed in crying that she didn't notice when Peter came until he embraced her.

"Lena," he whispered. "What happened?" She just gave another little sob. He looked straight at her, his eyes intense. "Do I need to go beat somebody up? Just say who to shoot and I'll shoot."

She shook her head. "No….I don't want you to hurt Eugene!"

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Eugene? What'd he do?"

"He…..kissed me…." she cried. "But he loves someone else!"

Suddenly, Peter's face changed to anger. He jumped up to his feet. "He did, the blackguard! I'm going to_ rip_ his hair out of his head, strand by strand!"

"No, Peter…."

"He dared to do that to you! What is wrong with him?" he huffed. "Well, don't you worry, my sweet sister. I'll take care of this for you." He strode out of the room.

She quickly followed him, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She had to stop her brother before he did somethign stupid. She already knew that his version of "taking care of this" probably meant punching Eugene in the face.

Sure enough, Peter walked into the stable where she was sure Eugene was working already and stopped. "FITZBOY!" he roared.

Eugene came walking out of Hercules' stall, with a very confused look on his face. "Um, yes, Peter?"

"Did you kiss Lena?"he barked.

Eugene blinked in confusion. "Did I what?"

"Lena!" Peter repeated. "Did you kiss her?"

She watched him shuffle his feet and look at the ground. "Um…I guess you could call what I did a kiss, but-…."

Peter lunged at him, his face red, and Lena quickly stepped right in front of Eugene. She wasn't about to let Eugene get hurt. "Peter," she said. "Stop it. This doesn't concern you."

"If it concerns you, it concerns me!" he argued back. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't smack that smirk right off your face, Fitzy."

"Eugene…" Lena began, but he calmly pushed her to the side.

"I don't have one," he said to Peter. "You_ should _punch me. I deserve it."

Lena expected Peter to shove his fist in his face. But he didn't. He looked surprised at Eugene's words, and he took a step back. "Okay, Fitzy," he said, his voice calm now. "I'll give you a break this time. But if you ever hurt her again, there's not a place on this island that you can hide."

He nodded. "Understood."

With one final nod, Peter left to do his own chores, leaving Lena alone with Eugene. Not something she really wanted to happen, but she made herself smile at him. "I'm sorry about that, Eugene," she said. "Peter….he can be a little bit of a hothead sometimes."

He just laughed. "That's okay. I understand. He's protective of his sister." He smiled at her, and her heart leapt. _Now stop that_, she told herself. She couldn't let herself think of him that way. Not anymore. "Besides, he wouldn't have wanted to punch me if I hadn't been such a jerk."

Lena opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came to her mind. "Um…"

"I'm so sorry, Lena," he said. "Do you think you can forgive me and we can be friends again?"

Lena thought that she had never hated the word friends more than she did in that moment. "Yes, I guess so." It was a lie, but what else could she say? No? I _don't_ want to be just friends?

His face relaxed and he looked relieved. "Good. Because I really do think you're a wonderful girl."

_Just not _your_ girl, _she thought. The words buzzed around her and stung. "Thanks, I guess," she managed to say. "Anyway, I need to go…." _And get away from you before I start crying! _ "….make sure Andromeda's doing all right."

"Oh, okay," he said. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then."

She forced a smile. "Of course." But she knew deep down, that she wouldn't.

Not unless her heart suddenly stopped aching.

XxXxXxXx

Rapunzel was enjoying her voyage. Most of the people on the ship were kind to her, and the weather was perfect. Every day the sun shone and she relished in the knowledge that each day, each mile brought her closer to Eugene. She thought of him all the time, but now with less of the ache that she'd had before she'd left. She knew now that soon they'd be together again. Often, she'd replay memories of him in her mind, thinking about what she'd do when they reunited. Kiss him? Squeal? Say something? Hug him?

She didn't know. Why did it matter? As long as he was glad to see her, it didn't matter at all what she said.

She glanced down at her purple flag, remembering the day when he'd given it to her: the sun on her face, his hand on her back, his cheek on her hair….

She couldn't wait to see him.

XxXxXxXx

The last few days passed slowly for Rapunzel, and she felt so excited when they finally reached Synthia that even the grumpiest travelers couldn't help but smile. After she disembarked, she wandered around the town for a while, trying to find him. She decided that staying here, walking aimlessly, probably wasn't the best way to find Eugene. So she asked the first kind-looking stranger she met about him, a young man with gentle eyes. "Excuse me," she said. "But I was hoping you could help me. I'm looking for a….um…..friend of mine. Eugene…"

The young man smiled. "Oh, yes, Eugene," he said. "He lives over at the Miller farm."

She smiled back. He was here! "Can you point me in that direction?"

He did, and gave her very specific directions that she followed precisely. It wasn't too long before she found it, and she shoved her wig in her bag. She didn't need it now. She glanced around, and she saw a medium sized barn with several healthy-looking horses gazing in a pasture next to it. She would have loved to meet them, but right at the moment she had something in particular in mind, and so she set her attention on the farmhouse. Slowly, she walked there and knocked on the door. A young woman with green eyes answered it. "Yes? Can I help you?"

Nerves fluttered in her stomach. This girl was _very _pretty. Eugene was staying _here_? "Uh….yes," she said. "Yes. I asked about a…uh…friend of mine downtown and they told me he was staying with you."

Understanding dawned in her eyes and she muttered something quietly. Rapunzel wasn't sure if she was hearing right, but she could have sworn it was her own name. "Do you mean Eugene?" the girl said.

"Yes!" she answered. "Is he here?"

She smiled slightly. "Yes, he's in the small cottage out back. You can go see him if you'd like."

"Thank you," she said. She gave the girl one last small smile, then started toward the cottage. As she walked, she felt like she should be happy but all she felt was nervous. What if he didn't remember her? What if he didn't care about her anymore? It had been only a few months, but maybe he'd moved on. That girl was awfully pretty…..

She reached the small cottage which looked rather cozy to her. Rapunzel knocked on the door, and a man opened it. She breathed in sharply. It was Eugene, _her_ Eugene, and everything about him was exactly how she remembered him: his face, his nose, his brown eyes….the two locks of hair. He was even wearing that green vest of his! She almost felt like she couldn't breathe when he looked at her. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she wasn't sure if she should. He was practically staring at her…..

She watched him blink several times, and she felt like maybe she should say something. Rapunzel held out her hands. "Eugene, it's….." She didn't think she could describe in words how glad she was to see him again. She'd imagined this scene over and over in her mind during her trip, and now that it was finally happening she didn't know what to say.

He shook his head to silence her, and instead he reached out and tentatively touched her face- almost to make sure it was her. He seemed reassured that it was, because he smiled slightly. He captured both of her hands and drew her toward him. Gently, he put his hands on the sides of her face and started kissing her- her forehead, her cheeks, and finally her lips. She instantly began to kiss him back, putting her hands around his neck, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. She'd missed this so much. She'd missed _him _so much. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, and he smiled again. As he drew her close, his arms encircling her waist, he whispered in her ear. "I dreamed you would come."

Rapunzel felt a thrill surge through her. He remembered her and cared about her. He dreamed that she would come! Her fingers held tightly to his shirt, as if to pull him as near to her as she could. In response, his arms tightened around her. She let herself cling to him and cry, but this time it was different.

This time she was crying because she was so happy.

* * *

><p>AN: Yay, they're back together again! See, I told you it would be okay :)<p>

Thank you so much to my three faithful reviewers- Wolfram, sunnyprincessbird, and Morgana. Your encouragement is so helpful to me!


	13. Problem

**Chapter 13-Problem**

**Rapunzel **didn't know how long they stayed like that, with their arms around each other, his chin resting on the top of her head. But after a while, Eugene pulled away from her. "Why are you crying?" he asked her softly, brushing away a stray tear with his thumb.

She smiled through her tears. "I'm crying because I'm so happy."

He grinned. "Me too," he said. He tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his eyes never leaving her face. "I've missed you so much, Rapunzel."

She touched his cheek. "I missed you, too."

He took her hands and kissed them, then he drew her close to him again, wrapping his arms around her. "Let's never be apart again, okay?" he whispered. "I don't think my heart could handle it."

"Mine either," she whispered back.

He leaned back to look in her eyes. "Would you like to come in, Rapunzel? You look cold."

She hadn't noticed until then because of the warmth of his arms, but she did feel a little chilled. It was the middle of fall now, and the evenings were cool. "Yes, please."

He smiled and gestured her inside, then he picked up her bag that she had completely forgotten about. She walked into the small cottage, which was lovely in her opinion. It obviously was occupied by a man, because it was plain and sparse, but she still liked it. His house looked so cozy. It was surprisingly not messy either, and she wondered if the girl she met helped or something.

"Are you still cold?" he asked her. "Would you something hot?"

"Actually, a nice cup of cocoa would be nice," she said. "If you have…some." She sat down carefully at the small table in the middle of the kitchen.

He grinned at her. "As a matter a fact, I do. Lena brought some over this morning."

She wondered who "Lena" was. Maybe the girl she had met up at the large farmhouse? The _pretty_ girl she'd seen at the farmhouse? Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. "Ah…Lena?"

"Yeah," he said. "I work for her and her brother, Peter. They live up at the farmhouse."

"You….work?" She knew she sounded stupid. Yet she had a hard time imagining Eugene doing any sort of farm work.

His only response, though, was to smirk at her. "Yes. Believe it or not, they give me some food and board in exchange for helping them with their horses."

She tried to picture him caring for horses after the whole Maximus debacle. She wasn't sure she could do it. "With…._horses?" _ She let out a small giggle.

Luckily for her, he chuckled too and started to make her cocoa. He made one for himself too. "I know," he said. "But they seem to like me."

"Who?" she asked.

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "What?"

"Well, you said they seem to like me," she said. "They who? Lena and Peter? Or the horses?"

He laughed again and handed her a cup. "Both, I think." She gave him a surprised look when he sat down across from her. Horses _liked_ him? "The horses do too, Rapunzel! I don't know why, but they do. Apparently, I'm 'good with them'. Who knew, right?"

She giggled before taking a sip. "Not me, that's for sure." She could still picture him and Max fighting the day of her birthday.

"You wound me, Rapunzel," he said, "with your un- surprising_ non_-faith in my ability to charm horses."

"You mean your lack thereof."

He toasted her with his cup. "Exactly."

Rapunzel smiled. She'd missed their banter so much. She lifted her cup and went for another sip. Of course, she realized that it was empty.

"Would you like another?" he asked her.

"Sure," she said. "But I can make it. Do you want more?" He nodded and so she walked over and began. She had only started heating up water when she felt his arms around her waist and he kissed her hair. Her cheeks warmed, but she tried to focus on what she was doing. That was impossible when he was so close. "Eugene, I'm-…."

"Shh," he said softly. He smiled slightly, and then he was tilting her face up and kissing her again.

He pressed his forehead to hers. "I've been wanting to do that for months."

She assumed he meant kissing her. She liked the sound of that! "Me too."

He cupped the side of her face with his hand. "I love you," he said, his eyes boring into hers.

She laughed giddily out of sheer bliss. She and Eugene were back together. He loved her! "I love you too!" His eyes softened as he smiled, and she thought he might kiss her yet again. But the shrill whistle of the kettle interrupted them. "Eugene, I should-…"

He blinked and stepped away. She immediately missed his arms around her. "Right, the cocoa."

She nodded, and then fixed the rest of it for them. She felt his eyes on her the entire time, and she felt her cheeks heat up again. When she was done, she walked back to the table and handed him his cup before taking a sip of her own. Between sips of cocoa, they kept talking until darkness fell all around them. Eventually, she began to yawn, and he realized that she was growing sleepy. So he took her back to the farmhouse and introduced her to the girl she'd met before, Lena, and her brother, Peter. She liked them immediately and part of was because of their graciousness. They let her stay with them too, in a lovely guestroom.

After Eugene had given her a good-night kiss, she snuggled under the covers, thinking all the while that she hadn't remembered the last time she had been so happy.

XxXxXxXx

The next morning, hours after Eugene had first seen Rapunzel, he still couldn't believe she was here. But even though he felt in a daze of disbelief, he still was so happy that they were together again. When he looked at her, and talked with her, he replayed over and over the moment yesterday when he'd walked to the door. When he'd seen her on the other side of his door, for a minute he thought he was dreaming again- like he'd fallen asleep in the middle of the day and had one of his fairy-tale dreams again. But he wasn't. He'd touched her just to make sure she was real, and after he knew she was, he'd kissed her. How could he do anything else? Words failed to describe how he'd felt then. Even now, he still didn't know if he could. Happy was a good word, but it didn't go far enough. No words did.

Yes, he was so glad that she was here, but what happened with Lena was never far from his mind. He clearly remembered how he'd kissed her a few days ago- back when he'd never thought he'd see Rapunzel again. And here she was, sitting in his house, with no idea what he'd done. Guilt gnawed at him, and when they ate lunch together, he finally forced himself to tell her. She deserved to know. "Rapunzel…." he said. "I have something to tell you."_ Brilliant start._

She smiled, like she couldn't wait to hear it. As if it was somehow good news. He wished it was. "Yes?"

"Um…." He decided to just say it. Delaying the inevitable wouldn't help at all. "I kissed Lena."

Rapunzel's eyes widened as she processed what he said. "You…what?"

He swallowed, trying to swallow the painful lump in his throat. "I kissed Lena."

He watched different emotions play out on her face: shock, horror, sadness, but then she looked angry. He cursed inside his mind. How could he have done this? How could he hurt her like this? "When?"

"Uh…just a few days ago," he answered.

She bit her lip. "Did you kiss her or did she kiss you?"

"Does it make a difference?" He thought a kiss was a kiss, regardless of who kissed who. Maybe it was a girl thing….

She blinked slowly in surprise. "Of course it does, Eugene! Did she start it or did you?"

"I don't know. It happened so fast," he said. "But probably a little of both." Surely he hadn't started it. Surely….

She shut her eyes, as if she were in pain. "Why, Eugene?" she whispered.

He said the first explanation that came to his mind. "Because I missed you." He cringed. What kind of reason was that? If he missed her, why would he kiss somebody else? He answered his own question: because he was stupid. Yes, that pretty much summed it up. He was stupid to even put himself in that kind of situation. But how could you explain stupidity to someone who'd never done anything dumb in her life?

Her eyes popped open. "_So you kissed someone else_?" Her voice escalated.

He felt helpless to explain this, and he grappled to find anything that might help her. "She looks just like you."

Rapunzel jumped up and started to pace; he assumed it was to try and express some of her frustration. "But she's _not_ me, Eugene!"

"I know, I'm sorry," he said. "I was thinking of you though."

She stopped and stared at him. "And that makes it okay?"

"Rapunzel," he said, in his calmest voice."I thought I was never going to see you again. You have to understand that-…" _you have to understand how miserable I was without you._

"Eugene," she said icily. "I thought I was never going to see you again too, but never, _ever, _did I think of kissing someone else. And believe me, there were plenty of young nobles in Corona who would have loved to." She didn't think too much about all the handsome nobles who started vying for her hand, but she couldn't help but bring it up now. At every single ball, it seemed like there as another rich suitor who wanted to marry her.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "Please, try to understand…"

She opened her mouth, as if she was going to say something, but she shut it, like she had changed her mind. "I…I can't talk about this right now." She stood up, and walked toward the door.

He caught her hand. "Rapunzel, wait…."

She looked at him, and he could see the tears in her eyes. He hated himself for hurting her like this. "Eugene, stop. I…I need time to process this. Please. Just let me be."

He sighed, dropping her hand. He didn't like it, but maybe giving her space was the best thing he could do right now."Okay, take the time you need."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, she fled out the door. He buried his head in his hands.

That couldn't have gone worse.

XxXxXxXx

After she left Eugene, Rapunzel cried for a while, just letting out her tears. She couldn't believe that he'd kissed somebody else, somebody besides her! It hurt, a painful hurt deep in her heart, and she felt completely betrayed. She'd come all this way, giving up her crown….and he'd kissed somebody else? But once she finished crying, she felt better, only not better enough to face him. She still needed more time. So she wandered around the little town for a while, just brooding and thinking about what had happened.

Eventually, she came to something that looked like a restaurant-the Bear and Bow. Intrigued, she went in. Most of the occupants were male, but she didn't let that deter her. She sat down at the counter, and studied the menu. There seemed to be lots of different drinks, though many of them she hadn't come across before. The man at the counter smiled at her. "See anything you like?"

Actually she did. One of the drinks sounded interesting to her: flip. She'd liked that. "What's flip?" she asked. "I think I'd like some of that."

"She wants flip? A glass of flip for the lady!" He quickly mixed some ingredients together in a cup, and presented it to her with a flourish. "Here you are."

She took a sip. Interesting. She took another, another, and another, imagining all the while Eugene kissing Lena. Eugene…kissing somebody else besides her. Suddenly, she wanted to punch something, but she kept drinking instead. Finally, she discovered that she'd reached the bottom. She frowned. At first, it hadn't tasted that good, but she found that she craved more of it.

The counter-man smiled at her again. "Want another?"

She pushed the glass toward him. "Yes, please."

Maybe it'd make her feel better to drink another one. She soon found out that it did. By the end of her second glass, she was not….angry anymore. It was amazing. She felt giddy enough to sing a song.

She asked for a third glass. Why not?

XxXxXxX

Eugene tried to do what Rapunzel asked, and gave her space. When darkness had fallen two hours ago though, he couldn't do it anymore. He had to make sure she was okay. He searched all through the town looking for her, but he'd never expected to find her at the Bear and Bow of all places, sitting at the counter, laughing with the bartender.

And drinking something alcoholic. He couldn't believe it. She'd probably never drunk anything in her life, and now she'd likely had several glasses. He was sure it went straight to her head. He stormed over to her. "Rapunzel."

She looked at him, with a silly smile on her face. "Oh, hello, _Eu_-gene."

Well, at least she didn't sound mad anymore. But she was probably completely drunk. Rapunzel-drunk. He felt like he'd entered another world. "Rapunel, what are you doing?"

"I'm drinking some….flop?" She laughed girlishly. "No, flip! That's it. Flip!" She giggled, and hiccupped. "You should have some, Eugene. It's…yummy!"

Flip? _Yummy_? She _had_ to be drunk to say that. He'd drunk flip many times, but he'd never describe it like that. It tasted more like sugar coated acid. He looked closely at her. "How many of these have you had?" _How many fingers am I holding up?_

"I don't know…maybe two….or three?" She hiccupped, then giggled a third time. "I sort of lost count."

She lost _count_? Okay, that was it. He walked over to her, picked her up, and put her over his shoulder, despite her protests. "That's enough for you," he said. "I'm taking you home." He began walking toward the door, pulling a few coins out of his pocket and dumping it on the counter.

"What are you doing?" she said, her words blurring together, her fists hitting his back. "I wasn't finished!"

He winced. Her fists weren't big, but they still hurt. "Rapunzel, stop it. I'm trying to help you. Now, talk to me. Why did you do this?"

"I don't_ want_ to talk to you, remember?" she muttered into his shoulder. "I'm mad at you."

She hadn't answered his question, but she didn't have to now. He already knew the answer: she'd come here because she was so upset about him kissing Lena. This was _his _fault. He heard the snickers in the pub but he chose to ignore them. They probably thought it was some kind of married couple's spat. He wished it was, because that would mean he'd be married to her. "I get that. But I'm not going to stand by and let you make an idiot out of yourself anymore."

Rapunzel only grunted, and he figured that she was in the sleepy stage of being drunk now.

She was. When they finally reached the quiet house, Rapunzel was snoring. It almost made him want to laugh, because hearing loud sawing sounds from her was the most hilarious thing he'd heard in a long time. But he resisted. Instead, he tucked her into her bed and watched her sleep.

He sighed deeply. She was so beautiful, curled up like that, and he loved her so much. He hoped she'd forgive him. He made a mistake, but how he wished he could take it back. He knew he should go back to his house now, yet he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her. Instead, he lay next to her, and put his arm around her. In the dark, he listened to her breathe, which sounded as comforting as a lullaby. He heard a bird calling in the night, and it echoed his own thoughts:

_Forgive me…forgive me…forgive me…_

XxXxXxXx

In the middle of the night, Rapunzel woke up with the worst headache she'd ever had. Her head pounded and she wondered what she'd done to cause this.

But then everything came back to her. Eugene….telling her that he'd kissed Lena. The Bear and Bow….lots of flip. She groaned. She must have gotten drunk. How utterly stupid of her! But how had she managed to crawl into her bed?

The question had barely registered in her consciousness when she grew aware of somebody's arm around her, somebody breathing close to her ear.

Eugene. It had to be. He must have brought her here, and then she remembered hitting him in anger when he'd dragged her away from the Bear and Bow. She cringed. She'd yelled at him too, yet no matter what he'd done, there was no excuse for talking to him like that. He'd kissed Lena, sure, but he'd told her. He apologized. And the kiss had happened when he believed they would never be together again. She could understand that, she could. He made a mistake because he'd been so lonely. Couldn't she comprehend that? Didn't she love him enough to forgive him?

Tears welled up in her eyes. She did, and as soon as morning came, she'd tell him so. But all of a sudden, her stomach lurched and she ran out of the house as fast as she could before heaving into the bushes. She kept emptying herself over and over, and when she finally stopped, she buried her face in her knees and cried. She felt _awful. _

A gentle hand rubbed her back. "Shh. It's going to be all right."

She didn't even need to look; she knew it was Eugene. With a small sob, she turned and buried her face in his shoulder. "My head hurts, Eugene," she whispered.

He put his arms around her and she clung to him. "I'm sure it does," he said softly. "But you'll feel better once you get more sleep."

She nodded. That made sense, but when she tried to stand up, she nearly fell over. He caught her and gathered her up in his arms. "Here, let me." He carried her back to her room and tucked her into bed again. His kindness made her want to cry, especially after she'd been so mean.

"Now, you sleep, okay?" he told her. "You need to get lots of rest."

"Are you…going somewhere?" she asked in a whisper. _Please don't…_ She didn't want him going anywhere, not when she felt so awful.

"Do you want me to?" he asked. She shook her head. "Then I won't." He pulled out the chair next to wall and sat in it. "I'll stay right here."

She smiled slightly and snuggled under the covers. She whispered to him in the dark. "I'm sorry, Eugene."

She felt his hand touch her cheek. "I know you are. And I forgive you," he said. "But you really need to sleep. We can work it all out in the morning."

She closed her eyes. That sounded like a good idea to her.

XxXxXxXx

When Rapunzel woke up, sun was streaming into her room, and Eugene was still sitting across from her. She glanced over at him, and was relieved to see that he didn't appear annoyed or anything. "Good morning," he said. "How are you feeling?"

She considered. Her body felt okay, but there was still a slight pounding in her head. "My head still hurts a little."

He frowned. "Maybe you should sleep some more…."

She shook her head. "No. I need to tell you something, Eugene."

He looked at her seriously. "I'm listening."

"I'm sorry," she said simply. "I should have been more understanding….and I shouldn't have yelled at you yesterday when you were trying to help me."

His face relaxed and he smiled. "It's okay," he said. "I forgive you. And I'm so sorry about what happened with Lena."

She tried to smile. She couldn't quite do it. Although she'd forgiven him, she still felt a twinge when she thought about him and Lena together. "You said she's like…me?"

"Yes," he said. He squeezed her hand. "But she's _not _you. There's only one Rapunzel, and nobody can ever replace you."

She reached out and hugged him. Hearing that from him meant everything to her, and all her doubts melted away like spring snow.

XxXxXxXx

Shortly thereafter, Eugene told her that he had to go help Peter with the horses. So, she decided to rest for awhile because of the pounding in her head. It would take too much energy to do anything else and she decided that she'd never ever do anything like last night again. It was horrible- and stupid too. But after she rested, she felt better enough to go downstairs and she sat by herself that afternoon, reading a book that she brought with her. Eventually Lena came in. She cringed inwardly, but she forced herself to smile. "Hello, Lena."

Lena smiled kindly at her. "Hello…" Suddenly she looked unsure of herself. "Should I call you Princess?"

She didn't really care either way. She could just call her by her name."No, that's all right," she said. "Rapunzel is fine."

The smile came back on her face, and she noticed that Lena had green eyes, just like she did. "Rapunzel, then. How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," she answered, saying the polite things. "How are you?"

"Oh, fine," she said slowly. "You happy to be with Eugene again?"

Rapunzel didn't particularly want to discuss this with her. "Yes," she said simply.

Lena nodded. "You know, Eugene missed you."

She knew he did. He told her so. "I-I…know. I missed him too."

Lena shook her head. "No. I mean he really _really _missed you."

She wasn't entirely sure what to say now. "Um…"

"He basically moped the whole time he was here, because he was so sad to lose you."

Something in her just gave, hearing all about how much Eugene missed her from this girl. "But he still kissed _you_," she snapped, finally giving in to her feelings. She kicked herself. Hadn't she made up her mind to forgive him?

She didn't miss the hurt look in Lena's eyes. "Yes, he did," she said softly. "But I'm sure he was thinking of you when it happened. He's been so lonely for you…"

"Do you love him?" she blurted.

Lena's face was thoughtful. "I don't know. I have feelings for him, sure, but I don't know if-…" She shrugged. "If it's real and lasting."

Rapunzel felt guilty. Lena didn't seem like the typical horrid girl who 'stole' Eugene that she thought she'd be. In fact, she seemed just as hurt as she felt herself. "Do you want to um…ask me the same question?"

She shook her head. "I don't need to. You wouldn't have given up your crown if you didn't. You love him and he loves you. You're lucky to have him." Lena blinked rapidly. "Excuse me."

Rapunzel watched Lena go and for the first time, she felt rather sorry for her. It couldn't be easy for her to be caught in the middle. But nothing could convince her that she and Eugene didn't belong together.

Nothing.

XxXxXxXx

And once Rapunzel and Eugene got through their mini-fight, everything was perfect between the two of them. Rapunzel couldn't be happier, but she found that she wanted more. She didn't want to keep living with Lena and it wasn't because she didn't like her. She did, and they'd even come to an understanding. But every night she always had to say good night to him and she didn't want to. She wanted to live in the same house as him, and wake up next to him. She wanted to spend every day with him for the rest of her life.

In short, she wanted to marry him, and she convinced herself that he'd want to as well. So after dinner one night, about two weeks after Rapunzel had come, Rapunzel and Eugene went for a walk hand and hand, and she decided to tell him about her great idea. They walked in silence under the stars and Eugene savored the feel of his hand in hers.

He looked at her and suddenly she beamed at him. "Eugene," she said. "I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea that you should know about."

"And what's that, Rapunzel?" he asked.

"I should marry you!" she said happily. "And we could live here and be together. Wouldn't you like that?"

Marry….Rapunzel? Of course he'd like that. He'd love it actually. It'd be like a dream. But there was the little fact that she was the princess… He'd felt a slight prickling about that for a few days, but he had to bring it up now. If she married him, they'd be bound together even more than they were already, and she wouldn't be able to return home. He cleared his throat and made himself say what he was thinking. "Rapunzel…..what about Corona? What about being the princess?"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. For somebody so smart, he could be such a stupid blockhead sometimes. Did she have to tell him that Corona could never be home if he wasn't with her, and there was nothing more important to her than being with him? Didn't he know that by now? Besides, she had already made up her mind that she was staying with him. She didn't consider herself stubborn generally, but once she decided something or promised something, she didn't go back on it (excluding the whole "yes, Eugene, I will move on" one. Because how could she be honest with herself and her feelings and keep that one?), and it was pretty fruitless to try and change her mind. "Honestly, Eugene. Why can't you understand that I _don't _want to be the princess if you won't be with me?"

"But what about your family?" He felt like he kept repeating himself, but he couldn't let her do this without trying to talk her out of it. She had to think about what she would give up.

Her lip protruded stubbornly. "_You _are my family."

"But Rapunzel…." he protested.

Honestly. Most of the time she didn't mind that he talked a lot; it was kind of cute, actually. But sometimes, like right now, he really needed to stop talking. So she grabbed his collar and kissed him, much like she had in the tower. At first, he didn't respond but then he started returning her kiss and even pulled her closer to him. Rapunzel loved it when he kissed her that like this. At least, she thought in satisfaction, she knew now that he wasn't hesitating because he didn't want her- it was obvious he did. So she could only guess that he wasn't saying yes because of the whole princess thing.

Suddenly, he pulled away and stared at her. "Rapunzel…what are you doing?"

"What you mean, what was I doing?" she said in confusion. She must have completely messed up if he didn't know that was a kiss. "I was kissing you- and you were _totally _kissing me back."

He didn't think he could deny that. "You weren't doing that to get me to agree, were you? Because that is so _not _fair."

The thought hadn't even entered her mind. "No, I was kissing you to get you to stop talking, Eugene," she said. "Sometimes you talk entirely too much and I wanted you to…." She threw up her hands. "I don't know, believe me that I care more about you than I do about being a princess."

"Rapunzel….."

She didn't think she was one of those kinds of girls who got upset easily, but she was definitely growing upset now. Why couldn't he just say yes? "Eugene…maybe I'm not understanding you, but are you telling me you _don't _want to marry me?"

"I'm saying this isn't something we can rush into," he tried to explain to her. "We should think about it so we're sure."

"I _have _thought about this, Eugene," Rapunzel said vehemently. "And I _am _sure."

"I-…."

"Come and….talk to me when you are," she said, then she ran off- leaving him to stare after her, wondering what he'd done to upset her.

XxXxXxXx

Queen Guinevere had two days that she could call the worst of her entire life, and both had to do with her daughter Rapunzel.

The first was when Rapunzel was taken away.

The second was when Rapunzel ran away.

It had started out as a normal day too, but that ended the minute she found the letter that Rapunzel had left:

_Dear Mama and Papa,_

_I am so sorry, but I cannot stay here any longer. I miss Eugene too much, and I need to be with him. I love him so much. So I'm going after him, and please don't send anyone to find me. I'll be fine. I hope one day you can forgive me for this._

_I love you._

_Rapunzel_

After she finished the last word, Guinevere collapsed on her bed, clutching the note in her hands, and began to weep. She couldn't believe that her daughter was gone again, and so soon after she'd gotten her back. How could she live without her daughter?

She heard the door open, but it barely even registered in her consciousness. All she felt was grief. Her heart ached in a way that it had in years past when Rapunzel had vanished the first time. _Rapunzel…..gone… _She buried her head in her pillow and continued to sob.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Ostwalt's arms were around her. "Ah…Gwenny, what happened?"

All she could do was hand him the note. He read it, and she watched his face. His eyebrows went up and up as he read, but when he reached the end, he looked just as stricken as she felt. He met her eyes. "Should we send someone after her?" he asked.

She sniffled, and dabbed at her eyes. "I don't know. She asked us not to look for her."

"But she's our daughter!" he protested.

"I know. Oh, what are we going to do, Ostwalt?" she cried.

His jaw was set. "I think it's time we had another talk with the Council."

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry this took so long to put up, but I hope you liked it. About the whole Lena thing, I just couldn't imagine Rapunzel NOT having a reaction to it, so hence their little fight. And I thought her drinking flip was rather funny, so I kept that part in too. And about the marriage thing...well, I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, so I love any story that has the possibility of somebody running away to marry their love.<p>

Thank you so much for all your feedback on the last chapter. 9 reviews! Wow! You all are awesome. :)

Lots of love

FL 6


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